Player grades: Warriors vs. Rockets Game 1

Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 95-85 win over Houston.

The Golden State Warriors struck first in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs, setting the tone with a highly impressive 95-85 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 1. With the win, the Dubs became one of just two lower-seeded teams to win the first game of their series this weekend.

It wasn’t always pretty, as Golden State squandered almost all of a 23-point lead before recovering and pulling away late. But it was impressive, and it was a defensive masterclass. And most importantly, it was a win. A win that puts the Dubs up 1-0 in the series, and gives them a chance to take full control when they meet again on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Now let’s grade the players. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. League-average TS this season was 57.6%.

Moses Moody

28 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 59.5% TS, +6

Moody had a little bit of an odd game. He wasn’t very aggressive, and that hurt the offense early. He wasn’t much of a factor rebounding the basketball or playmaking.

But he had a strong defensive game, and the one three he made was a huge bucket that nearly iced the game in the closing minutes.

Grade: B

Jimmy Butler III

42 minutes, 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 10-for-19 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 4-for-6 free throws, 57.8% TS, +14

I have no idea how this season is going to end. It could conclude in four games, with Sunday being Golden State’s only playoff win. It could finish with the hoisting of a trophy and a banner.

All I know is that Butler cannot be doubted. Playoff Jimmy is fully here. If anyone had any questions as to whether Butler could still compete at the highest level on the largest stage, well ... here you go. Question heard and answered. Emphatically.

Jimmy was everywhere. On the day where it was announced that Draymond Green is a Defensive Player of the Year finalist, Butler looked like the greatest defensive player on the planet. Having five steals is outrageous, but it truly does not come close to capturing how disruptive he was. He was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. It felt like there wasn’t a pass he didn’t deflect, wasn’t a drive he didn’t cut off, wasn’t a layup he didn’t get in front of.

And then, to tie it all together, he bullied Houston on the other end, and went into closer mode with the multiple huge buckets late ... including the one that iced the game.

My lasting impression from Sunday’s game was this: no one on the Rockets looked like they are anywhere near Butler’s level of play, to make no mention of Steph Curry’s. And it’s pretty hard for a team to overcome that in a seven-game series.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.

Draymond Green

36 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 40.0% TS, +4

It didn’t feel like a particularly noteworthy game for Green, and the stats back that up. And yet ... the Dubs held Houston to just 85 points. The Rockets shot just 39.1% from the field and turned the ball over 17 times.

Butler may have been the biggest defensive star on Sunday, but Dray is still the quarterback of the offense. And even though Alperen Şengün still feasted, Green deserves all sorts of credit for Golden State putting forth a show-stopping defensive performance.

Grade: B

Brandin Podziemski

35 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-13 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 52.1% TS, +17

There was perhaps a little reason for concern that Podziemski would struggle in this matchup given how athletic the Rockets are. But those concerns looked foolish on Sunday. Podziemski matched up just fine with Houston, in every phase. He was a menace on the glass, played strong defense, and was able to penetrate the defense to create looks for teammates. And he added in a huge late three.

Welcome to the playoffs, Podz. You look right at home.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds, best plus/minus on the team.

Steph Curry

40 minutes, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 12-for-19 shooting, 5-for-9 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 78.0% TS, +3

Sunday was a masterclass in difficult shotmaking by Curry. In the first half it was all about magic around the rim, with the chef contorting his body and blindly spinning in bucket after bucket. In the second half it was all about how-the-hell-did-he-do-that jump shots.

Houston’s defense is elite. There were only eight instances this year where they gave up 30 or more points while allowing a player to score with 70% or better true-shooting. Curry did it, on the road, in the playoffs.

If there’s one concern coming out of this game, it’s that the Dubs really shouldn’t be relying on Curry to make such outrageous shots every night. But that’s not a worry for today.

And sure, he had too many turnovers, but there’s a not a human being alive who can do what he did on Sunday.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Gary Payton II

16 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 58.3% TS, -10

Such a luxury to have this type of defensive stopper coming off the bench, though Payton made his mark on offense a bit on Sunday, especially late in the game. But, like with Green, there’s just no way to not give GPII credit when the Warriors have a superstar defensive performance.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Quinten Post

12 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 fouls, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0.0% TS, +4

Post got his first taste of playoff basketball, and the moment definitely didn’t look too big for him. He didn’t play great, as he was unable to contribute much on offense and didn’t grab many rebounds. But he looked composed and played good defense.

Grade: C

Buddy Hield

15 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 25.0% TS, +7

Hield was a total non-factor on offense, which is always a little jarring to see. He did have a pretty good game on defense though, I thought — at least relative to expectations.

Grade: C

Kevon Looney

9 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 0-for-1 shooting, 0.0% TS, +4

Looney isn’t going to play heavy minutes in this series, but he is going to get called in here and there to match up with Steven Adams, and it’s impossible to overstate how important that role is. Very good defense in this game.

Grade: B-

Gui Santos

7 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 133.0% TS, +1

I’m impressed by the fact that while Santos doesn’t isn’t super athletic, he never really appears athletically overmatched. He’s competitive even against the best athletes, in part because of how savvy he is, and how hard he plays. He’s unlikely to play more than a few minutes each game, but his burst of energy really gave the Dubs a boost in this game.

Grade: B+

Sunday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Braxton Key, Kevin Knox II, Jonathan Kuminga, Pat Spencer

Sunday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Jackson Rowe