Grading Every Golden State Warriors Player Heading into 2015 All-Star Break
With the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend officially upon us, now seems a better time than any to assess the individual performances of each member of the Golden State Warriors.
At 42-9, we already know, for the most part, who these guys are collectively. But what we want to know is how effectively each of Steve Kerr’s players has used his time out on the court.
The process used to determine each grade will be fairly simple. A player’s complete body of work will be taken into account (traditional stats) as well as his overall impact on the Warriors’ performance as a unit (net rating, on/off stats).
"C" grades will serve as the baseline here. If a player is playing above or below preseason expectations, then their assessment will reflect as much.
Finally, players will also receive a suggested area in their game to improve upon when the regular season resumes, which means that—spoiler alert—no one will be bringing home an A-plus on his midseason report card.
Harrison Barnes
1 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 29.2 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.9 TOPG
After spending much of last season coming off the bench, things have been going much better for Harrison Barnes now that Steve Kerr has made him a regular in Golden State’s starting rotation again.
Barnes, now in his third year as a pro, has done well in his increased role, averaging career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (5.7), field-goal percentage (.503) and three-point field-goal percentage (.432)—all while playing in just under 30 minutes per night.
But Barnes’ biggest improvement has come on the defensive end, where he is no longer a net negative for the Warriors.
Perhaps that comes with the territory. During his rookie season, he started all 81 games he appeared in and had a positive impact—however minor—on Golden State’s team defense. It’s when then-head coach Mark Jackson moved him to the bench in 2013-14 that Barnes’ play on that end began to suffer.
With the second half of the NBA year looming, though, it would behoove Barnes to focus on both getting to the foul line and knocking down his tries at a greater rate when he’s there.
As of now, Barnes is averaging just 1.9 free-throw attempts per game and is making 72.4 percent of them. At 6’8" and 210 pounds with crazy athleticism, the former UNC Tar Heel has all the tools necessary to get to the rim on a consistent basis.
Grade: B-
Andrew Bogut
2 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 24.2 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.7 TOPG
The Warriors are clearly a much better team when Andrew Bogut is active and playing at his best, especially on defense.
With Bogut on the floor, Golden State allows nearly seven fewer points per 100 possessions than it would with him on the bench—a number that serves as the difference between owning the league’s stingiest defense and just narrowly falling into the top half of the Association, per NBA.com.
The problem is that the Australian big man has had a tough time staying healthy over the course of an 82-game season, and he’s already missed 14 of the Warriors’ 51 games due to various illnesses.
That’s why Bogut’s biggest goal for the second half should be staying in Golden State’s lineup on a nightly basis. His presence could be the difference between reaching the NBA Finals and getting bounced in the second or third round.
Grade: B
Stephen Curry
3 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 33.2 MPG, 23.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.9 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 3.1 TOPG
With each passing night, Steph Curry is slowly but surely inching ahead of the pack for the title of best point guard in the game.
Between his effortlessly smooth jumper that he can get off at any time he sees fit, a growing feel for setting up his teammates for easy buckets and even an increasingly hounding style of defense—Golden State allows three fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor—Curry impacts the game in more ways than just putting points on the board.
At the break, he ranks tied for first in the league in steals (2.2), is fifth in assists (7.9) and is seventh in scoring (23.6). He’s also flirting with the ever-elusive 50/40/90 shooting slash line (50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, 90 percent from the foul line), knocking down 48.1, 39.9 and 90 percent of his shots from the floor, beyond the arc and at the stripe, respectively.
Even legitimate MVP candidates have room to get better, though. Averaging 3.1 turnovers per game, the Davidson product could stand to take care of the ball better. Come playoff time, the Warriors would do just fine without some of those risky passes he often enjoys flinging around the floor.
Grade: A
Festus Ezeli
4 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 11.5 MPG, 4.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 1.1 TOPG
Knee surgery forced Festus Ezeli to miss the entirety of the 2013-14 season, and so far this year he’s only been able to participate in 22 games thanks to a bad ankle sprain.
But even before he suffered the sprain, Ezeli had never actually looked 100 percent, and the Warriors paid for it whenever he took to the floor.
He's normally a solid defender, but Golden State allows a little over eight more points per 100 possessions when the Vanderbilt product gets burn.
Those numbers don’t really do Ezeli any justice, though, as he is a legitimate rim protector when healthy (2.6 blocks per 36 minutes).
Much like Bogut, Ezeli needs to get his body right for the home stretch. If Bogut goes down and Ezeli was still on the mend, the Warriors would be in some serious trouble defensively.
Grade: D
Draymond Green
5 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 32.0 MPG, 11.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 1.7 TOPG
Draymond Green is rapidly becoming a star in front of our eyes, and his stellar play on both ends of the floor is a big reason why the Warriors are currently pacing the Western Conference.
How good has he been? Well, of all qualified players, the former Michigan State Spartan is one of two averaging at least 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal per contest.
The other? DeMarcus Cousins.
And although Green may not be an All-Star like Cousins, he’s certainly played like one.
Golden State is 13 points better per 100 possessions with Green on the floor, and if he continues to play this well for the rest of the season, then it might be safe to say David Lee isn’t getting his starting job back.
With all the good, though, has to come some bad. Green has struggled from the free-throw line this year (.683). If he’s going to play heavy minutes late in the season and throughout the playoffs, he’ll need to knock down the freebies with the game on the line.
Grade: B+
Andre Iguodala
6 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 26.8 MPG, 7.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.2 TOPG
Due to the rise of Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala has been strictly relegated to bench duties in 2014-15.
Unfortunately, the former All-Star hasn't exactly filled the role of primary ball-handler for the second unit. And while part of that may be due to the presence of Shaun Livingston, there's something to be said about Iguodala's declining play.
His field-goal percentage (.455) is way down from last year's clip (.480), and his player efficiency rating has never been lower (11.0).
Iguodala is still a plus-defender, at least. The Warriors allow a little more than three points less per 100 possessions with him on the floor, thanks in large part to the top-flight athleticism he still possesses despite being on the wrong side of 30.
Going forward, it would be in both Golden State's and Iguodala's best interest if he took a hold of the offense more often. His size, speed and ability to handle the ball make him a nightmare for defenders.
Grade: C-
David Lee
7 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 19.3 MPG, 8.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 1.0 TOPG
From a traditional statistic standpoint, David Lee hasn't been this unproductive since his rookie year back in 2005-06. But prorate those numbers per 36 minutes and Lee is still averaging a solid 16 points and 12 boards.
Lee has fallen victim to the Colin Kaepernick effect, though. Like Alex Smith before him, injury cost him his starting job, not lack of performance. And the player replacing him, Draymond Green, has taken the opportunity Lee's maladies afforded him and hasn't looked back.
To his credit, the nine-year pro hasn't made a big deal out of coming off the bench, telling Yahoo Sports' Kelly Dwyer, "If this is a temporary thing, a permanent thing, that doesn't matter to me at all. I'm so excited that I'm on this winning team."
It's that kind of attitude that makes Lee so valuable to what the Warriors are trying to accomplish. And despite his almost neutral effect on the team's offensive and defensive efforts, it's important that he's able to keep Golden State on track when its stars are getting a breather.
Lee could stand to be a little more efficient offensively, however. He's currently shooting a career-worst 48.9 percent from the floor, which is by no means a bad number. But Lee has never failed to shoot above 50 percent in any of his seasons as a professional. Fewer shot attempts this year should mean more makes for Lee in the coming months.
Grade: C+
Shaun Livingston
8 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 17.1 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.2 TOPG
Despite being a net negative (minus-14.4) for the Warriors when he's on the court, Shaun Livingston has still done some good things for Golden State this year.
Not really a scorer or defensive stopper, Livingston makes his contributions in the flow of the offense, setting up his teammates for good looks whenever Steph Curry takes a seat (6.1 assists/36 minutes).
The Warriors knew what they were getting with the nine-year pro when they signed him this past summer, and so far, Livingston has done all he can to supply Steve Kerr with what he needs out of his backup point guard.
Having an experienced veteran like Livingston spelling Curry in the postseason should prove to be advantageous for Golden State. In the meantime, look for him to cut down on his turnovers in the second half. Logging almost 1.5 miscues in just 17.1 minutes per night isn’t disastrous, but it never hurts to be more cautious with the basketball.
Grade: C-
Marreese Speights
9 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 18.1 MPG, 12.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 1.2 TOPG
Who would have thought that Marreese Speights would be the Warriors' third-leading scorer at the All-Star break?
The veteran big man is enjoying his best season as a pro, averaging career highs in points (12.0) and field-goal percentage (50.3 percent) while also corralling 5.1 caroms per night.
For a while, Speights seemed to be somewhat of a lost cause. He wasn’t productive in his days with the Memphis Grizzlies and was only marginally so in his one year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But in Year 6, he is starting to put it all together, and because of that, he’s become a vital piece on a championship contender.
Golden State is five points worse per 100 possessions with him on the floor, though, and if Festus Ezeli can’t get healthy in time for the playoffs, then Speights is going to have to buckle down on the defensive end.
Grade: B+
Klay Thompson
10 of 11
2014-15 Stats: 32.5 MPG, 22.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 2.2 TOPG
Klay Thompson’s play on both ends of the floor (plus-10.5 net rating) has been outstanding so far this season, and as a result, he’ll be making the first of what is likely to be many All-Star appearances this weekend.
From an offensive standpoint, Thompson has never been better. His 22.1 points per game are a career high, and he’s pouring in those shots at a 47.1 and 44.0 percent clip from the field and beyond the arc, respectively (also career highs).
Defensively, he’s been a legitimate stopper on the wing, averaging 1.2 steals per game and allowing opponents to score just 103 points per 100 possessions.
Thompson’s improvement has been astronomical from last year to now, but if we’re going to be picky, it would be nice to see him chip in a few more rebounds when he’s on the floor. At 6’7", 205 pounds, Thompson is bigger and stronger than most of the guys he’s going up against on a nightly basis, which means he should be more aggressive attacking the glass.
Granted, his small rebounding totals could be due to the Warriors’ coaching staff wanting him to leak out for transition threes whenever an opponent’s shot goes up.
Grade: A
Fringe Contributors
11 of 11
Leandro Barbosa
Serving as the team’s second or third guard off the bench, Leandro Barbosa has been productive in spot minutes, averaging just over seven points per game on 49.1 and 38.3 percent shooting from the field and beyond the arc, respectively.
But while having a little extra scoring stashed away on the pine is nice for any club, Golden State could likely use a boost on the defensive end of the ball, something that Barbosa hasn’t brought to the table.
Grade: D+
Justin Holiday
Justin Holiday has been an interesting pickup for Golden State.
In 32 games, the 6'6" guard has scored in double figures on five separate occasions and has added a handful of other contests where he came up just one or two points shy.
A deep bench option, Holiday isn't counted on for much in the Warriors' game plan from night to night. But Steve Kerr has to at least be happy that Holiday brings something positive to the table whenever the coach calls his name.
Grade: C-
James Michael McAdoo
It's hard to appropriately grade McAdoo's performance seeing as he's only appeared in four games.
But apparently he's done enough to stick around a little while longer, at least in Golden State's mind.
McAdoo was signed to a second 10-day contract on Feb. 2. Now, Joe Lacob and Co. will have to decide if they want him on the roster throughout the end of the year.
Grade: Incomplete
Brandon Rush
Ever since Brandon Rush tore his ACL during his first go-around with the Warriors, he's basically just been a shell of himself.
The former Kansas Jayhawk, once known as a legitimate three-point threat, barely sees the floor, and when Kerr does throw him in, it's only for 8.0 minutes per night.
Until Rush can wipe the cobwebs off, he'll be glued to the bench and will be handed a failing grade.
Grade: F
Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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