JUST IN: “Steph Curry Lights Up the Court in Warriors’ Victory Over Mavericks”

Steph cooks up 30 as the Golden State Warriors lock in their 3rd straight win! Jimmy Buttler III: 18 PTS (5-9 FGM), 5 AST Brandin Podziemski: 17 PTS, 13 REB (career high)

The Golden State Warriors have looked like a completely different team since acquiring Jimmy Butler III, and Sunday was yet another data point in their favor. On a nationally-televised game, with Andre Iguodala getting his jersey retired, the Warriors dominated and destroyed the Dallas Mavericks, winning 126-102. They’re now 5-1 since acquiring Butler, despite this being their lone home game during that span. And they’ve returned from the All-Star break with back-to-back 24-point wins over the teams directly ahead of them in the standings.

Spoiler: the players played well on Sunday. The grades will be strong today. But they still must be doled out. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Sunday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.

Moses Moody
27 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 5-for-10 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 59.5% TS, +16

I was so excited for Butler to join Jonathan Kuminga and teach him some things. I hadn’t really stopped to think too much about how he might impact Moody’s game, though.

It seems like the answer is a lot. Moody is playing the best ball of his career, which is primarily due to the work he’s put in, and the stable minutes he’s finally getting after the Warriors traded four players for one (all while Kuminga has been sidelined). But you can also see a big influence from Butler. This is far and away the most aggressive that Moody has played in his career, and you can especially see him bully smaller opponents in a way he never has — and in a way that Butler is famous for.

Moody made a name for himself as a youngster who quietly did all the right things, rarely making mistakes but not really having the ability to leave a big mark on games, either. That seems to be changing. He’s become not just a factor, but a force, both on offense and on defense.

Jimmy Butler III
28 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 5-for-9 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 8-for-8 free throws, 71.9% TS, +28

If you need some stats that contextualize just how dramatic Butler’s impact has been on the Warriors, here you go: over the last three games, he’s committed one foul, turned the ball over one time, and shot 21 free throws.

This is Steph Curry’s team, but it’s Butler’s transformation. The Warriors are simultaneously more aggressive and more careful on offense. They’re an entirely new team on defense. And their attitude has a night-and-day difference.

Also, might as well just start naming the final minutes of the third quarter off of Butler, because he just completely takes over in that time.

Grade: A

Draymond Green
27 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 5-for-10 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 55.3% TS, +19

Just kind of vintage Draymond. Stellar defense, great passing, tons of attitude and energy. He looks revitalized, and fully aware of how good the Warriors can be with Butler in the fold.

Grade: A-

Brandin Podziemski
30 minutes, 17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 7-for-15 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 56.7% TS, +30

Quite simply a spectacular game from Podziemski. The box score captures that he did some good things on defense, scored a lot, and somehow finished with five more rebounds than any other player on either team, despite being one of the shortest players on the court. The box score doesn’t capture the impact his energy, hustle, and competitiveness had.

Podziemeski was all over the court. He seemed to have his fingertips on every loose ball and every rebound opportunity. He seemed to sneak a hip, elbow, or shoulder into every cutting Mavericks player to throw them off their line. He quarterbacked the offense.