Washington Wizards vs. Golden State Warriors: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Behind an avalanche of a third quarter, the Golden State Warriors buried the Washington Wizards in a 107-76 victory at Oracle Arena on Monday. The team's official Twitter account noted its impressive record:
The Wizards entered halftime trailing by just three points, but they were outscored 29-8 in the third. The Warriors were able to cruise to victory after that. Bay Area sports broadcaster Tim Roye noted the Warriors' defensive dominance:
Stephen Curry led the way with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also dished out six assists and grabbed five boards.
His counterpart on the Wizards, John Wall, struggled to get anything going for his team and finished with just 11 points and five assists.
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry: A
Curry was a critical part of the third-quarter blitz the Warriors put on the Wizards, hitting two of his trademark threes that no one but him has any business even taking. The NBA's official Twitter account pointed out Curry's three-pointer stat:
It didn't matter how close Wall or any other Wizards defender was able to stay to Curry, he still managed to get his shots up and hit 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Klay Thompson played just 18 minutes in his return from injury and showed some rust in the short time that he was on the floor, as ESPN's Ethan Strauss pointed out:
His defense was as solid as usual, but he struggled to get into any kind of rhythm on the other end, missing a number of open jumpers he typically cans.
He finished the game with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Draymond Green: B
Draymond Green provides a lot of different things for the Warriors, but in this game, it was all about his defense.
Despite being seriously outmatched in terms of size, Green was able to bother and disrupt everything Nene tried to do offensively.
He was no slouch on the other end, either. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
Andrew Bogut: B+
The Warriors were once again an absolute nightmare in a game in which Andrew Bogut was really clicking. When he's healthy and clogging the paint, Golden State's extremely difficult to score on, as the third quarter of this game would indicate. GSW Stats noted the significant role Bogut plays in Golden State winning games:
Bogut stifled Marcin Gortat in much the same way Green slowed down Nene, and the Aussie big man finished with 12 boards and two blocks in 23 minutes. Strauss was impressed by the "Bogut-Green defensive combo":
Harrison Barnes: C-
Harrison Barnes had been hot in Thompson's absence, but his shooting cooled off in a 2-of-7 performance that led to just seven points.
He was solid defensively, though, grabbing seven rebounds and holding Paul Pierce to just seven points on 3-of-7 shooting.
Rest of Team: C
Golden State didn't get a ton of contributions from the bench before garbage time, but it clearly didn't need any.
The one guy from the second unit who managed to provide a little offense was Marreese Speights, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The only other reserve to hit double figures was Andre Iguodala, who scored 11 and did much of his damage in garbage time.
Washington Wizards
John Wall: C-
Look no further than Wall's line for evidence of the kind of stifling effect the Warriors defense can have on an opposing player, especially Curry as Jordan Ramirez noted:
Wall, one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA, simply could not find any space against the rotations of Golden State.
He's typically able to probe any defense and sink his opponents into the lane, leaving his teammates open on the perimeter. The Warriors just closed off lane after lane, holding Wall to just five assists.
Bradley Beal: C-
Beal had a terrible time with Golden State's defense as well. He's typically able to space things out for his teammates, but he shot just 4-of-11 from the field and scored 12 points.
His defense was decent, but the Warriors just have too many weapons for one solid defensive performance to have much of an impact on a game.
Marcin Gortat: D
With Wall struggling to create open looks for his big men, Gortat was left to create for himself out of the post a few times.
Against Bogut's always stellar defense, it wasn't pretty. In fact, Fansided editor Ben M. described Gortat's post game as "garbage":
Gortat couldn't shake free and shot 2-of-7 as a result. He finished with four points and seven rebounds.
Nene: D
Nene is 6'11", big enough to play some center. Green is 6'7", the same height as Thompson or a number of other prototypical wings.
The height difference didn't matter, as Nene struggled to get anything going against the energy and athleticism of Green.
He finished the game with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting and committed five turnovers.
Paul Pierce: D
Completing the string of rough lines for Wizards starters was Pierce, who looked every bit the elder statesman in this game.
The Warriors play at a breakneck pace, and any team that doesn't have the horsepower to keep up can get embarrassed in a hurry. CBSSports.com's Matt Moore provided a vivid illustration of how he would personally feel playing against the Warriors:
"Couldn’t fit this in a tweet but this is how I feel. pic.twitter.com/5zHEMEBoDO
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 24, 2015"
Rest of Team: C-
Ramon Sessions was one of the only Wizards who had what could be considered a solid game. He scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Kevin Seraphin also managed to get to double figures, but like Iguodala, he did much of his damage in garbage time. He finished with 12 points.
The rest of the bench combined to shoot 3-of-14 from the field and score 11 points.
Coming Up Next
Washington's next game will be at home, Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET against the Indiana Pacers. Against another strong defense, the Wizards will have to be more willing to move the ball with the pass rather than the dribble.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will be on the road to take on the Portland Trail Blazers, Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET. With injuries piling up for the Blazers, the Warriors have a good shot to be on the right side of another blowout. Coupling the Blazers' injury-riddled squad with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr saying he "doesn't think" he'll "rest" any players (via Ramirez), a blowout seems to be highly probable:
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
