Grading Warriors’ 28-27 season entering NBA All-Star break

Grading Warriors’ 28-27 season entering NBA All-Star break originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

To turn the page to 2025, Steph Curry said it best by calling the Warriors “mid.” That assessment earned the Warriors a “C” grade to begin the new calendar year in NBC Sports Bay Area’s most recent report card.

The Warriors at the time were coming off an 18-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers to make them a .500 team at 16-16. Going into this weekend’s NBA All-Star break, the Warriors now are one game above .500 with a 28-27 record, again making them the 10th seed in the Western Conference. But this team feels much different six-plus weeks later.

Maybe that’s the power of adding a real star in Jimmy Butler.

What has gone right? And what has gone wrong? Let’s break it all down before All-Star festivities.

Offense

Since we last checked in, the Warriors have fallen from 17th in points per game to 19th (111.9), but their offensive rating has gone from 21st to 17th (112.1), one spot ahead of the Chicago Bulls.

While the Warriors now take the third-most 3-pointers per game (42.5) and make the fourth-most (15.3) with the 16th-best clip (35.9 percent), their offense now has more variety. They aren’t so reliant on the 3-pointer, which is a direct result of Butler’s arrival.

In the four games since Butler has been a Warrior, Golden State has attempted 110 free throws and has made 92. Those numbers seem impossible for the Warriors, as does them making 83.6 percent of their free throws. Their offense simply has a new identity.

It badly needed one, too. The Warriors in their four games with Butler have averaged 117.3 points, which would place them right above the Boston Celtics for the season. Jonathan Kuminga’s return should be another boost.

Grade: C+

Defense

The loss of Andrew Wiggins means perhaps getting rid of your best defensive player. No, that crown still belongs to Draymond Green. However, Wiggins’ ability to guard elite wing scorers at 6-foot-7 and stay in front of quick scoring guards made him incredibly valuable.

Butler, 35, isn’t the same kind of on-ball defender as the 29-year-old Wiggins. He still is elite on that side of the ball in many ways. Butler’s help defense has been a revelation for the Warriors. Since his addition, the Warriors have had games of eight steals, 16 steals, nine steals and 13 steals.

On the season, the Warriors still have a top-10 defense, ranking ninth in defensive rating (111.8). What still hurts them far too often is a 3-point shooter getting hot. When they overhelp, an open shooter usually finds too much space.

The health of Gary Payton II, who was a late scratch Thursday night because of a peroneal contusion, and Kuminga’s defensive development will be key to this unit.

Grade: B

Stars

The final four minutes of the Warriors’ win in Houston to hold off the Rockets going into the break was the power of their new Big Three: Curry, Butler and Green.

Curry started it with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a seven-point lead. Green scored five points in the final four minutes, Butler added four and Curry three. The Warriors were emotionally reeling when they lost Wiggins in the Butler trade. They then were injected with swagger serum once he was in a Warriors jersey.

In the two games before Butler made his team debut, Curry scored 69 points but needed 66 shots and 38 3-point attempts to get there, shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from deep. In the four games he has played having Butler as his co-star, Curry has averaged 31.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists with a 45.8 field goal percentage and 37.9 3-point percentage. He also has been a cumulative plus-42.

Green is feeding off Butler. They’re constantly coaching each other on the fly and their energy is infectious. Green has 13 steals in their four games together and 25 assists, making him a cumulative plus-36.

Then there’s the new guy. Butler became the third player in franchise history to have three straight 20-point games to begin his Warriors career, joining Kevin Durant and Wilt Chamberlain, just to fall one point shy of 20 Thursday night. His 28 free throws in his first two games were the most in a two-game stretch for a Warrior since Durant in 2018. He’s everything the Warriors weren’t, giving them exactly what they needed at the right time.

Butler might be the only Warrior who wishes he wasn’t getting a week-long break right now. He isn’t even in game shape yet, and his influence on the Warriors already is undeniable.

Grade: B+

Additions

This section might as well be wiped away. The only addition that matters at this point is Butler, who has been written about enough.

De’Anthony Melton is long gone. His replacement, Dennis Schroder, no longer is a Warrior. Neither are offseason additions in Kyle Anderson or Lindy Waters III. The only remaining offseason signing is Buddy Hield, whose roller coaster of a year continues.

Before Thursday night, Hield had started the Warriors’ previous 12 games. The Warriors went 6-6 in that span and Hield averaged 9.9 points per game, making a lowly 33.8 percent of his 3-pointers. He was sent back to the bench against the Rockets and scored two points, going 1 of 5 overall and missed all four of his 3-point attempts in 14 minutes.

The grade below is not reflective on Butler, but instead on the offseason signings and in-season trade of Schroder.

Grade: D

Youth

Kuminga has only played two games in 2025 because of an ankle injury. The timing couldn’t have been worse, and the Warriors are excited to bring him back soon after the All-Star break.

Trayce Jackson-Davis was on a roll the last time we checked in, but he now has been a DNP (Did Not Play) in each of the last two games and five of the Warriors’ last nine games. The need for a stretch five and the finding of rookie Quinten Post has severely hurt Jackson-Davis. Post’s 24 3-pointers in his first 15 games are the second-most in Warriors history, and he’s shooting 39.7 percent beyond the arc.

Gui Santos, 22, also has leapfrogged Jackson-Davis in the rotation, though they play different positions. Santos since Jan. 9, Santos has shot 46.7 percent from three while playing 17.4 minutes per game.

The focus here is, though, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody.

Podziemski will be the Warriors’ starting shooting guard coming out of the break. He fits seamlessly next to Butler and showed in Houston he can be a third scorer by adding 18 points on 17 shots. Podziemski missed 12 straight games due to an abdomen injury, and in 12 games since has averaged 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Moody, finally, seems entrenched into the rotation as a small-ball four, having scored in double figures in 13 of his past 15 games. Moody in that span has averaged 12.2 points. His 3-point shot continues to be strong, and it’s evident this is the best he has attacked closeouts to get to the rim.

Grade: B

Health

Rick Celebrini remains a busy man. Kuminga has missed 20 straight games now. Podziemski missed 12 straight. Draymond Green missed seven straight.

But Curry playing in 46 of the Warriors’ 55 games this season is a major win. His longest stretch of games missed is three at the beginning of the season, despite battling knee and thumb issues.

Grade: B

Coaching

Steve Kerr has used 33 different starting lineups, tied for the league lead. He’ll have to figure out if Kuminga is best off the bench or as a starter when he returns.

Either way, Kerr has found more solid rotations. Less is more. Losing players and having three open roster spots is a positive for Kerr and real depth. Kerr continues adjusting throughout the season.

How quickly the Warriors have their identity for the stretch run will be key.

Grade: B+

Overall

Their record is 28-27, not 3-1. The latter is more the feeling of the team now. That’s the Jimmy Butler effect.

The Warriors still haven’t won three consecutive games since mid-November. They’re one game above .500 and have the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule in the Western Conference.

This team has been impossible to put a pulse to the entire season, and the next few weeks should be a fascinating sprint to the finish line.

Grade: C+/B-

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast