{"id":524688,"date":"2026-01-08T10:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/524688\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:43:11","slug":"warriors-vs-bucks-player-grades-steph-curry-and-the-bench-take-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/524688\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors vs. Bucks player grades: Steph Curry and the bench take over"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey, the Golden State Warriors won a game again. Isn\u2019t that fun! It was a nice showing from the Dubs on Wednesday night, as they kicked off their eight-game homestand by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 120-113<\/a> in a game that was a little more convincing than the margin would suggest.<\/p>\n

It was a team effort \u2026 but not a total team effort, as Steve Kerr trimmed the rotation to 10 players. But we need to grade those 10 players and reward them for their success. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a \u201cB\u201d grade representing the average performance for that player.<\/p>\n

Note: true-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Wednesday\u2019s games, league-average TS was 58.2%. <\/p>\n

32 minutes, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-for-15 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 8-for-9 free throws, 55.4% TS, -4<\/p>\n

Butler hasn\u2019t been the most efficient lately, though his ability to get to the line sure helps him out. On the year, he has a superb 64.3% TS, which is the second-highest mark he\u2019s ever posted. But this game was less about his scoring and more about everything else. He kept the Warriors afloat when Steph Curry sat. He made critical defensive stops. And he had arguably the most important play of the game, drawing a foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo that sent the MVP to the bench with foul trouble for the final 2:30 of the first half, and sparked an 11-0 Dubs run.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s just such a smart player. And we\u2019re being reminded lately that Butler, Curry, and Draymond Green really lift each other up. When one plays better, they all play better.<\/p>\n

29 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 5-for-12 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 54.3% TS, -10<\/p>\n

If you want to know how good of a player Antetokounmpo is, he scored 35 points on 15-for-22 shooting and I spent half the game ogling at how good Green\u2019s defense was. Great offense beats great defense, folks!<\/p>\n

But it really was great defense, and it was easy to get caught up in the theatrics of it all. If I may borrow a phrase, if you don\u2019t like watching Giannis Antetokounmpo try to score on Draymond Green, then you don\u2019t like basketball. I wish the game were still going. Forget the rest of the players: just give me 48 minutes of Giannis at the elbow, with the ball, the court cleared out, and Draymond defending him. That was some damn fun basketball we got to watch.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Green played quite well. The seven assists with just one turnover was huge, especially on a night when the Dubs had just 10 turnovers. He had two threes at a critical juncture in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 15 points when the Bucks had started to pose a threat. He\u2019s playing his best basketball of the year, and my goodness do the Warriors need that.<\/p>\n

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in assists.<\/p>\n

19 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 foul, 5-for-8 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 68.8% TS, -12<\/p>\n

Post had an awesome start to the game. He drained a three on the Warriors\u2019 second possession and then, a few minutes later, took Antetokounmpo off the dribble, pump-faked, and baby-hooked a shot in off the glass. His offense was smooth.<\/p>\n

Not a great defensive game against a very athletic and lengthy Milwaukee squad, and the Warriors need him to contribute more on the glass. Better-than-expected offense, worse-than-expected defense \u2026 let\u2019s call it average overall.<\/p>\n

Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Worst plus\/minus on the team.<\/p>\n

28 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 3-for-7 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 64.3% TS, 0 +\/-<\/p>\n

Not the most dynamic game for Moody, but a damn fine one. He made the right decision on nearly every possession, on both ends of the court. He played 27 minutes and 31 seconds in an at-times frantic game and didn\u2019t commit a single turnover or foul. He made open threes.<\/p>\n

That works. That absolutely works.<\/p>\n

34 minutes, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 turnover, 12-for-21 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 66.8% TS, +16<\/p>\n

This probably isn\u2019t a hot take, but I have a feeling Curry is going to erupt during this extended stay at home. And he sure started things on the right foot on Wednesday night, with a borderline impeccable game.<\/p>\n

Curry did some of his best playmaking, setting teammates up and only turning the ball over once. He was a dynamic offensive force, who took over when it was needed: he had 16 points in the third quarter when the Warriors fully took control, and hit a nail-in-the-coffin jumper with 30 seconds remaining in the game. And he was a menace on the glass and on defense.<\/p>\n

Maybe Giannis just brings out the best in Steph. Or maybe he\u2019s about to go on a serious heater\u2026<\/p>\n

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in assists.<\/p>\n

22 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 20.0% TS, +19<\/p>\n

Wednesday was one of the best bench performances of the year for the Warriors, and Podziemski was a huge part of it. Sure, he didn\u2019t score well, but that\u2019s about the only thing he didn\u2019t do well. Podz played a stellar all-around game, and was a huge part of why the Warriors won the assist, rebounding, and turnover battles in this game. After a tough stretch, he\u2019s really found his groove with solid play.<\/p>\n

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus\/minus on the team.<\/p>\n

18 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 33.3% TS, +12<\/p>\n

Between his excellent fourth quarter on Sunday and Gary Payton II\u2019s injury, Santos was given a bigger role in this game, and entered with Podziemski as the first subs into the game. He really made the most of those minutes in the first quarter, then not so much in the second quarter, then again in the second half.<\/p>\n

He had a few uncharacteristic mistakes, but it is impressive how often he makes the right read, and decisively at that. He understands the value of the extra pass, and he really understands the value of getting the ball to Curry. His defense remains quite strong, and was a huge part of why the Warriors won this game. I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be out of the rotation again anytime soon.<\/p>\n

25 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 8-for-12 shooting, 5-for-9 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 85.4% TS, +4<\/p>\n

Well friends \u2026 I think we can officially declare Melton back. Goodbye rust. Goodbye recovering ACL. He is all the way back.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not gonna drain five threes or score 22 points on most nights, but uhh \u2026 well \u2026 the Warriors are going to be hard to beat when he does. He didn\u2019t do much else in the box score, but that really doesn\u2019t capture his contributions. He\u2019s just such a smart and trustworthy player. He doesn\u2019t make mistakes, he sets up the offense beautifully, and he plays perfectly within the system.<\/p>\n

Curry, Green, and Butler finding their rhythm is the biggest thing for the Warriors. But right behind them is the rhythm of Melton and the next guy on this list\u2026<\/p>\n

19 minutes, 8 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 66.7% TS, +9<\/p>\n

A vintage Al Horford performance. Draining threes. Setting immovable screens. Gobbling up rebounds. Making the right read and the right pass. Bodying up post players. Somehow staying in front of perimeter players. Blocking shots. Always being in the right place and doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

Lately Horford has been looking like the Horford the Warriors were hoping they had signed, and it\u2019s hard to put to words just how important that is for Golden State. Elite performance.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.<\/p>\n

13 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, +1<\/p>\n

Richard didn\u2019t make much of an impression in this game, but I remain highly impressed by his ability to avoid mistakes. There aren\u2019t many rookies who are comfortable playing 13 minutes of action without taking a shot, let alone without making a bad pass or doing something ill-advised. He really does play like he\u2019s been in the league for a decade.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s DNP-CDs: Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Kuminga, Pat Spencer
Wednesday\u2019s inactives: LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Malevy Leons, Gary Payton II<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hey, the Golden State Warriors won a game again. Isn\u2019t that fun! It was a nice showing from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,8224],"class_list":{"0":"post-524688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-warriors-player-grades"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115859069715905768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}