Link to Boxscore
Afflalo ( C ) -- okay, this is a real hard grade. Here is Afflalo's statline: 36min 0-3FG 2pts 2reb 1ast. I mean...!!! And yet somehow he felt solid. He really worked on defense, it didn't feel like he was being taken advantage of, Klay and Durant combined for 12-35 shooting. There are no numbers to support this grade, but it felt like he was a part of this win rather than a detriment.
Cousins ( A- ) -- and another tough grade. This was winning how you are supposed to win with a great center. Strangle the other team, beat them up, slam your big man into their middle and uglify the game. But there was some real ugly. Almost a second straight triple double, flat muscle work inside down the stretch, big defensive plays, but also 7 TOs, 0-5 from three, a badly timed tech, a fumbled board in the final seconds that could have led to a loss... A-?
Koufos ( B- ) -- yet another game where small ball tactics (and the Warriors nearly complete lack of bigs) meant very few minutes for Koufos. But he did his work on the boards, defended the rim nicely, and even flipped the script and added a nice little interior assist to Cousins.
McLemore ( B- ) -- there's a bit of the McLemore scale in play here again, but there is also a bit of not, as Ben wasn't very Ben like. His numbers were modest, you rarely noticed him, but that's precisely the thing. Like Afflalo, he hustled on D and didn't hurt us, and we got away with starting Arron Afflalo and Ben McLemore vs. Klay and Durant and just hustled and scrapped.
Collison ( B+ ) --I think on this you almost have to ignore Steph going on because...Steph. You also have to begin to ignore DC not getting any assists because its pretty clear Cuz is our PG now, and DC is just a small scorer. And so you judge him as a small scorer, and he hit important shots and gave us outside presence Lawson could not. + some big attempts at hustle too.
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Tolliver ( A- ) -- and see? Anthony clearly heard me insult him yesterday, and vowed to do better. And he roleplayered it up in a big way, hitting all his threes this time, and really playing defense at a high level for him, including maybe intimidating Curry into missing the huge go ahead layup.
Barnes ( A ) -- was huge on the glass, and maybe bigger on defense, where he contributed mightily to Durant's miserable night and harassed him all over court. Our huge bench advantage is where we won this one.
Lawson ( C ) -- normally the leader of the bench crew, but just seemed off. made some uncommon turnovers and had trouble with Steph. Got himself benched late in the game by repeatedly refusing to shoot the ball on open kicks and swings, often ending up settling for a worse shot or throwing it to Boogie to have to beat the clock with a tough contested look.
Richardson ( INC ) -- did pretty well really in his first half stint guarding Klay Thompson. Hit his only shot, and aside from one rookie mistake, was very fundamentally solid on Klay.
Cauley Stein ( A- ) -- is beginning to contribute every night now. Really aggressive on offense, including uncorking an impressive spin move borrowed from Cuz's arsenal. Got to see some of that ability to guard perimeter people as Golden State got him in switches, and it didn't go the way they planned. Not enough muscle on the glass though, and finishes got too soft late as the game got physical.
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