Golden State Warriors: Early Season Grades for Each Key Player

The Warriors are 2-6 and have been outscored 96.1 to 89.7 on average per game. They've had to deal with the ongoing Stephen Curry injury, Monta Ellis missing games and a difficult schedule. 

This makes it a bit hard to evaluate the team or individual players, but I think we can make some judgments on how each key player has performed.

I'm going to assign my grades so that a B is performance in line with what has been expected from that particular player. If everything is on the same scale, it doesn't tell you much if Monta Ellis earns an A and Kwame Brown earns a C.

Andris Biedrins

Grade: C

All of the talk of the old 'Dre coming back has been empty. He's only playing 14 minutes a game and using only 11.8 percent of possessions when he's on the floor. He has made zero free throws on two attempts.

The still young Latvian is, however, rebounding and blocking shots at a very good rate. His per-36-minutes numbers are 3.9 offensive boards, 9.1 defensive boards and 3.9 blocks.

Still, Biedrins is not doing much for the Warriors and has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. There's a reason they spent $7 million on Kwame Brown and are playing him 21 minutes a game.

Kwame Brown

Grade: B+

I'm not sure exactly what was expected of Brown, but he's been an effective defender for 21 minutes a game and has been a solid pick-and-roll partner for Monta Ellis, despite his terrible free-throw shooting.

Brown recently claimed he taught Andrew Bynum everything he knows (via L.A. Times). I don't know what to make of that, but the Warriors would be much worse off without Brown right now.

Stephen Curry

Grade: Incomplete

In his limited action hampered by his ankle injury, Curry has not been his usual self. He's been less aggressive offensively, while turning the ball over more often. And he has missed minutes by fouling even more than he did last year. 

We need to see if he can get healthy before we make any judgments.

Monta Ellis

Grade: A-

Ellis has been asked to carry a huge load so far, considering Curry's injury and the lack of playmakers around him. Though not shooting particularly well, he has attacked and dished relentlessly, averaging 24.1 points and 8.1 assists a game. 

If asked to perform like this on offense, Ellis has a hard time being a solid defender. But all in all, you could not ask Ellis to do much better than he has. 

David Lee

Grade: C+

David Lee has been putting up his usual 16 points and 10 boards a game, but he is doing so less efficiently, due to his 32 percent shooting on jumpers. And his assists per game are down to 0.8, from 3.2 and 3.5 the last two seasons, respectively.

His defense hasn't been anything special either, with opposing centers doing particularly well against him. 

Brandon Rush

Grade: A-

As good or promising as Paul George has been, the Pacers must be slightly upset they lost Rush. His 54 percent three-point shooting and solid defense against opposing teams' twos and threes have taken minutes away from Dorell Wright and given the Warriors needed depth.

Ish Smith

Grade: A-

The young, former Memphis point guard has been a very pleasant surprise for the Warriors. Playing 10 minutes a game, he's assisting on 50 percent of possessions while he's on the floor and scoring decently thanks to good three-point shooting and nice floaters. 

The Warriors recently added Nate Robinson, which may take away some of his minutes, but Smith should still get opportunities to contribute.

Klay Thompson

Grade: C+

The first-round pick looks like he can be very good coming of screens and spotting up for jumpers. Right now, though, he can't do much else effectively. His isolation plays and pick-and-rolls have resulted in few points for the Warriors. And he doesn't get to the line, because all he does it take jumpers. His lack of quickness looks like it's going to hurt him on defense. 

Epke Udoh

Grade: B

The second-year big man has been more assertive offensively, using over half of his possessions on post-ups or isolation plays and finishing more effectively around the basket. Still, he is not going to the line very often, and 55 percent of his attempts are on two-point jump shots—too high a number for someone shooting 41 percent on them.

Say what you will about Synergy stats, but Udoh is averaging .43 PPP on defense, second-lowest in the league. And he has increased his defensive rebounding rate considerably. If he can keep his defensive contributions going and take fewer jumpers on offense, the Warriors should be happy. 

Dorell Wright

Grade: C-

Wright is shooting 5-of-27 on three-pointers this year. He led the league in that category last year. His points per 36 minutes is down to 7.1, after being 15.4 last year.

And his defense hasn't been too great either. He's allowing a very high 1.55 PPP on spot-ups so far. Expect his minutes to continue to fall if he doesn't start picking it up.