The Golden State Warriors celebrated arguably their most impressive win of the young NBA season on Tuesday night, beating the visiting New Orleans Pelicans. Despite the absence of superstar Steph Curry, starter Andrew Wiggins and key veteran De’Anthony Melton and despite losing the first quarter 31-14, the Warriors put on a show, picking up their first home win of the year and improving to 3-3. 1.

Thanks to a spectacular defense and three-point performance, the Warriors won by double digits in each of the final three quarters and achieved an emphatic 124-106 victory. However, there is no time to celebrate as they are back in the lab to face the same Pelicans team in the same arena at the same time.

Until then, all we can do is evaluate the performance. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a grade of “B” representing that player’s average performance.

Note: True Shooting Percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that takes three-pointers and free throws into account. Last year the league average TS was 58.0%.

Draymond Green

29 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-3 three-pointers, 37.5% TS, +15

It was clear that a Warriors victory without Curry would have to include a strong defensive performance. And even though the Dubs got kicked in the mouth in the first frame, Green still set the tone defensively by making life difficult for Pelicans star Zion Williamson.

Williamson had a decent game – he finished with an efficient 31 points but turned the ball over eight times – but I thought Green played great. The shots he took against Draymond were incredibly difficult attempts; As they say, great offense beats great defense.

It was also Dray’s best game-winning play, with seven dimes against no turnovers. With Curry out, getting his teammates ready was crucial, but it was arguably even more important to keep the Warriors from getting sloppy and turning the ball over.

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

Trayce Jackson Davis

17 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1-on-1 shooting, 1-on-2 free throws, 79.8% TS, +6

In this game, TJD showed how quickly he learned the system and how intuitive he is as a player. The five assists in just 17 minutes are a pretty accurate reflection of how clever he was with the ball.

However, he didn’t necessarily play a crucial role, and he was bullied a bit both on defense and on the glass. The Dubs were outrebounded 44-35, and he had his part.

Grade: B-

Buddy Hield

29 minutes, 28 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 9-for-18 shooting, 7-for-11 three-pointers, 3-for-3 free throws, 72.5% TS, +9

After a game and a half break, Hield, who starred in the first two games of the year, was at full strength. With the Warriors losing so much depth with the departure of Curry and Wiggins, Steve Kerr brought Hield into the starting lineup, and things didn’t go well at all at first. He forced some shots and missed others that we’ve become accustomed to, and he had a paltry three points on 1-for-8 shooting at halftime.

When the second half began, Hield was no longer in the starting lineup as Kerr had turned to the hot hand. But that didn’t stop him from being the star of the half as he scored 25 points on 8-for-10 shooting, with 19 of those points coming in the fourth quarter as the Warriors pulled away from the Pelicans.

On the TNT broadcast, Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said he had a conversation with Hield during halftime, but did not reveal what was said. Or maybe the Warriors can figure out what it was so they can recreate it.

While Hield didn’t fill the rest of the stat sheet, he played phenomenal defense as part of a highly active team effort. Keep it up, buddy!

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

Moses Moody

17 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-on-7 shooting, 4-on-5 three-pointers, 100.0% TS, -7

Moody was also added to the starting lineup to give the Dubs a little more depth with Curry and Wiggins sidelined. And he certainly kept the distance, with a phenomenal performance in shooting the ball.

Aside from the shooting, Moody was unlucky. He gave the starting job to All-Star Brandon Ingram, and I thought he played Ingram decently…but Ingram still reached deep into his bag of tricks and pulled out all the stops for a dynamic offense in the first quarter.

Moody’s role fluctuates from game to game, but his performance is simply consistent. He’s a coach’s dream, even if people are frustrated with how Kerr uses him.

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

Brandin Podziemski

34 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 8-for-18 shooting, 3-for-8 three-pointers, 52.8% TS, +17

Like Moody and Hield, Podziemski was making his first start of the season. And like these two, he showed off and showed off. Podziemski brought the same energy to the starting lineup that he brought off the bench this year, even in 34 minutes of play – a high for any Warriors player this year. He was very active on defense and had countless deflections, while he controlled the offense well without losing a single ball.

The scoring efficiency is still not there, but he had quite a few save save errors in this game where he took a difficult shot despite the shot clock running out. Right now, what he did best when he was drafted (shooting) is arguably the weakest part of his game… and that’s a testament to how complete he has become as a player.

Grade: A-

Jonathan Kuminga

28 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 6-for-13 shooting, 1-for-3 three-pointers, 4-for-4 free throws, 57.6% TS , +4

Kuminga was moved to the bench, with Kerr explaining after the game that this was just due to a lack of spacing and he wanted to split the minutes of Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis. Kerr said he told Kuminga it would be a big game for him, just in a different role, and he wasn’t wrong. He may not have been a starter yet, but he still played a season-high in minutes and clearly had his best game of the year.

He is an absolute threat when things go downhill. New Orleans had no answer to Kuminga’s attack at the basket, with or without the ball. And he played strong man defense against Ingram.

Kerr relied heavily on Kuminga…he was the first substitute after seven minutes and remained on the pitch for the next 15 minutes. His athleticism gave NOLA fits.

Degree: B+

Kevon Looney

20 minutes, 4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 40.0% TS, +11

I’ve really enjoyed watching Looney transition into this new role over the last two years. He has evolved from the slow and steady center anchoring the starting lineup to the spark plug who brings tireless energy and effort off the bench.

That’s clearly evident on the glass, where Looney has now grabbed 36 rebounds in just 68 minutes… 20 of which are offensive rebounds. He is simply relentless and seems to both jump-start his teammates and frustrate his opponents.

Grade: B
Post-game bonus: It is tied with the team lead in rebounds.

Lindy Waters III

31 minutes, 21 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 fouls, 8-for-13 shooting, 3-for-7 three-pointers, 2-for-2 free throws, 75.6% TS , +26

And now your star of the game. Who could have predicted, when Kerr announced before the season opener that Waters would be out of the rotation at the start of the year, that he would be one of the first two players on the team to crack 30 minutes in a game? Or that, at any Point in the season would his highest scoring game be higher than Curry’s?

It was clear that Waters deserved to be in the rotation, but that there was simply no way to have a 13-man rotation. So with three key players injured, it was clear that Waters would get the chance… one he’ll get again and again when various players are out.

And he showed why the Warriors are so excited to have him on their team. He got his first meaningful minutes of the year in the first quarter and immediately made such an impact that he replaced Hield in the starting lineup in the second half.

He was electric from beyond the arc, attacked the basket relentlessly, was a beast on the glass and played exceptional defense.

Waters was the best player on the field. Damn, figure.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Tied for team lead in rebounds, best plus/minus on team.

Gui Santos

2 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, 1 turnover, -3

While Waters was able to enter the rotation due to injuries, Santos wasn’t, which isn’t all that surprising. He still has a lot of work to do to get into the rotation, even in games like this, but it’s great to see the team win confidently that he gets minutes.

Grade: Incomplete

Kyle Anderson

20 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 foul, 0-for-9 shooting, 0-for-6 three-pointers, 1-for-2 free throws, 5.1% TS, +9

Unfortunately, the revamped jump shot we heard about in the preseason hasn’t arrived in Anderson’s locker yet. He is now 4 of 18 from the field and 1 of 11 from three-point range.

But otherwise it was a slo-mo game. He made one smart pass after another and was an absolute liability on the defense, racking up a steal every five minutes with just one foul. He’s just a great veteran on the team, even if his value is limited if he doesn’t shoot well.

Grade: C

Gary Payton II

8 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 three-pointers, 70.0% TS, -3

No matter how many minutes he plays, GPII always seems to have an impact on the game. He didn’t have any of the team’s 14 steals, but it certainly felt like he had a fair number of turnovers. Thoughts and prayers for NOLA ballplayers.

Grade: B+

Reece Beekman

2 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, -3

Beekman, an undrafted player on a two-way contract, was active for the first time in his career and was allowed to make his NBA debut. It may have only been a scrappy two minutes in which he couldn’t get a shot, but it’s the culmination of a lifetime of hard work that paid off. I always love seeing debuts. Congratulations, Reece!

Grade: A+

Pat Spencer

3 minutes, 4 points, 2-for-3 shooting, 66.7% TS, 0 +/-

Spencer was also active for the first time this year and made his season debut. He does some interesting things, so don’t be surprised if he gets a bigger role at some point this year.

Grade: Incomplete

Inactive on Tuesday: Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post, Andrew Wiggins