Grading Stephen Curry, Warriors' Top Stars to Open 2022-23 NBA Season
With the Golden State Warriors—champions of the 2021-22 NBA season—sporting an unsightly 4-7 record, it might seem like the sky is falling in San Francisco.
That's only the case, however, when coach Steve Kerr dips into his unproven, youth-heavy bench. When the starters are on the floor, the Dubs demolish opponents by 26.2 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
Clearly, this bench is a big problem, but is everything golden for the stars? To tackle that inquiry, let's dive deep into the Dubs' three most important players.
Stephen Curry
Curry is a two-time MVP, last season's Finals MVP and an eight-time All-NBA selection. He's still never had numbers like these.
His 32.6 points per game is a career-high. So are his 7.1 rebounds, 51.2 field-goal percentage and 68.5 true shooting percentage, per Basketball-Reference. His 5.3 triples match his previous personal best, and his 43.1 percent splash rate eclipses his career average of 42.8 percent. His 34.2 assist percentage is fourth-best of his career, and his 9.9 turnover percentage is easily his lowest.
"What he's doing is incredible," Kerr told reporters. "He just gets by anybody. It doesn't matter who's on him, he gets right into the teeth of the defense, finishes, finds guys. He's been spectacular here to start the year."
As if Curry's individual stats weren't enough, consider this: The Warriors are a whopping 28 points better per 100 possessions with him than without, per NBA.com. This is MVP-caliber execution.
Grade: A+
Draymond Green
Just when it seemed Green's days might be numbered in Golden State, the skilled small-ball big man has once again shown his importance to this team.
His do-it-all defense remains a game-changer—even if he hasn't looked quite as sharp as he did last season—his playmaking helps this system work, and his scoring hasn't looked this good in years. Granted, he's only putting up 9.1 points per night, but that's his highest scoring average since 2017-18, and he's shooting a career-best (by a mile) 60.9 percent from the field.
His versatility helps this defense switch almost everything, and his playmaking helps this offense pop. The synergy he enjoys with Curry creates magical moments out of the two-man game, and Green will seldom miss an open teammate.
It would help if he presented any kind of threat from three (3-of-10 in 10 games) or connected more frequently on free throws (10-of-17, 58.8 percent), but that feels a little nitpicky when he's passing his biggest tests.
Grade: B+
Andrew Wiggins
Surprised at all to see Wiggins listed here instead of Klay Thompson? Well, then you haven't paid much attention to the Warriors of late.
Wiggins made his All-Star debut last season, then upped the ante with masterful two-way play in the postseason. Thompson, meanwhile, is posting the worst shooting rates of his career and showing some rust (if not outright slippage) on defense.
Wiggins appears as if he graduated with honors from Golden State University. Credit the Warriors for crafting the perfect role for him—he can empty the tank on defense and pick his spots on offense—but credit him, too, for improving his shooting, rebounding and defensive consistency.
His stat line is essentially a string of career-highs, including his 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks, 47.9 field-goal percentage and 40.3 three-point percentage. He's been awesome.
Grade: A