Buddy Hield and Steph Curry rated the Warriors' win over the Jazz

The Golden State Warriors continued their early-season good times on Friday night, adding to their win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday with a lopsided drubbing of the Utah Jazz. They earned a 127-86 victory and a perfect 2-0 record. 0 road trip to start the season. It's a good time to be a Warriors fan!

So let's move on to evaluating the happy times. As always, these grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a grade of “B” representing that individual 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

20 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 three-pointers, 37.5% TS, +12

Draymond's stats aren't very good. So I'll give you another line of stats to look at instead.

27 minutes, 13 points, 4-for-17 shooting, -17

These are the stats for the Warriors' offseason target, Lauri Markkanen. Everyone who took turns guarding Markkanen did an excellent job, but no one performed better than the player given the first assignment, Green. Markkanen just never got into the mood and seemed uncomfortable throughout the night. That alone made it a good night for Dray, even if the rest didn't go well.

Grade: B

Jonathan Kuminga

18 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 three-pointers, 20.0% TS, +8

Steve Kerr won't overreact to bad things after two games. And he definitely won't be able to do that after the Warriors won those two games by a total of 77 points.

But the contentious starting lineup was the Warriors' biggest weakness in the first two games, and Kuminga was clearly the weakest link. The unit is struggling with spacing issues and Kuminga isn't getting the transition opportunities or cutting layups he had so often in the preseason.

It's far too early to panic, but no matter what he does or what the lineup looks like, Kuminga just isn't playing well right now.

Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Tie for worst plus/minus on the team.

Trayce Jackson Davis

17 minutes, 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 6-on-6 shooting, 100.0% TS, +12

In case you didn't see the game and missed Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike riffing, TJD hasn't missed a shot yet this season. He's a perfect 11-for-11 from the field, but a terrible (by comparison only) 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.

He made a lot of shots through hustles in this game. He also got a lot of rebounds through hustling, gobbling up nine of them in just 17 minutes.

The Warriors still have a lot to figure out on offense in the starting unit, but the spacing issue is at least alleviated by Jackson-Davis' phenomenal rim-running game.

Andrew Wiggins

23 minutes, 10 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 3-for-10 shooting, 2-for-4 three-pointers, 2-for-2 free throws, 46.0% TS , +17

One of the biggest storylines for the Warriors this season has been Wiggins' performance. Is he the player he was in 2021-22, when he dominated on defense and on the glass in the NBA Finals and was an All-Star starter? Is he the player he was in 2022/23, when he regressed significantly? Or is he the player he was in 2023-24, when he was arguably one of the worst rotation players in the NBA?

The first returns are here and they look fantastic. Wiggins was athletic and energetic in this game, flying around the court for defensive help, deflections, loose balls and rebounds. He played with calm urgency, didn't leave the ball standing and was unstoppable on the glass.

These are the Wiggins who can take this team to a new level.

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

Steph Curry

27 minutes, 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 7-for-20 shooting, 4-for-13 three-pointers, 2-for-2 free throws, 47.9% TS , +22

Not the best night for Curry, but he continues to do a great job of putting his teammates in position to succeed so they can start the year strong. This will come back and help him.

But really, there's just not much to talk about here for The Chef. He didn't do anything of note and had trouble with his shot. However, his seriousness still makes him one of the most valuable players on the pitch, even if it wasn't his best performance.

Grade: C

Kevon Looney

13 minutes, 9 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 65.4% TS, +12

Buddy Hield deserves credit for helping the Warriors find their rhythm after a slow start in the first half. But Looney certainly deserves a lot of credit too.

The Warriors looked like a different team – a harder Team – as soon as Looney stepped onto the court. He played stubbornly, refusing to allow Jazz players to score and not allowing missed shots to go unnoticed. It was a tough performance and one the Warriors needed.

Grade: A

Lindy Waters III

7 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-3 three-pointers, 100.0% TS, +11

Since the Warriors haven't had a single minute of play in a fourth quarter this year, we've been able to see Waters play a little, even if he's out of the rotation. He had a brilliant performance in the pre-season and he has also produced a brilliant performance at the start of the year so far. It remains pretty clear that he'll be up for it if given the chance at a more meaningful moment.

Grade: A

Gui Santos

6 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, +9

Santos, the other player on the roster who is currently out of the rotation, also got valuable playing time. He's still learning and adjusting to the NBA game, so these are valuable reps for him.

Grade: B-

Kyle Anderson

18 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 three-pointers, 50.0% TS, +18

My overwhelming takeaway from two games of watching Anderson with the Warriors is that it's just a joy to have players who do almost everything right on the court. Sure, Slo Mo might not fill the pit list, and yes, he might have a slightly unsightly sweater.

But he rarely does anything that makes you think, “Why did he do that?” He never makes you want to pull your hair out. He is always exactly where the loose ball, the rebound or the pass is. He's just such an intelligent and exhilarating player.

Grade: A-

Buddy Hield

20 minutes, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 10-for-14 shooting, 7-for-9 three-pointers, 96.4% TS, +24

And here we are. The star of the show. When Hield entered the game, the Warriors were struggling. From the moment he checked in until the final buzzer, they had no problems.

He was absolutely dominant and scored 24 points in the first half – by the time he checked in for the second half the outcome was already certain.

Hield has proven he can be an electric scorer in this system the Warriors have been desperately searching for. But just as importantly, he has proven he can impact the game in other ways. Even though it felt like he scored every time he touched the ball, he also provided six assists without turning the ball over. He pushed the ball in transition, played good defense and crashed the glass.

All around just great.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists, representing the highest plus/minus on the team.

Gary Payton II

13 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 three-pointers, 66.7% TS, +10

Three steals in 13 minutes. There's rarely a game where Payton comes in and doesn't make a noticeable impact on the defense. What a luxury to have a 12-man rotation where GPII can be used in short bursts to absolutely torture opposing attacks.

Grade: B+

De'Anthony Melton

14 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls, 0-for-4 shots, 0-for-3 three-pointers, 0.0% TS, +8

It's been a slow start to Melton's tenure with the Warriors, but that's no cause for concern. He has more than proven himself.

He did a lot of good things in this game, keeping the ball moving and moving without the ball and directing the defense. But he struggled to score, had a few turnovers and, worse of all, was almost fouled in just 14 minutes of play.

Grade: D+
Post-game bonus: Tie for worst plus/minus on the team.

Moses Moody

19 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 5-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 three-pointers, 60.0% TS, +18

Moody may be the 12th of the 12 players in the rotation to enter the game on any given night, but you'd be hard-pressed to argue that he's the 12th most important player on the team… and his minutes certainly aren't either the 12th, although he gets some of it in garbage time as the Dubs don't have enough non-rotation players to field a garbage time unit.

His excellent preseason has carried over into the regular season. He shoots more than ever and aggressively, but with determination. His defense remains strong and although he had two turnovers in this game, he rarely makes bad plays.

He just keeps getting better.

Grade: B+

Brandin Podziemski

24 minutes, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 7-for-14 shooting, 1-for-5 three-pointers, 53.6% TS, +24

After throwing a donut in the season opener, Podziemski bounced back with 15 points in this game…leading the team in plus/minus again. A young defender playing 24 minutes without turning the ball over is pretty special, and Podz has continued his trend of just making good things happen on the field…on both ends.

Perhaps most importantly, the team's speed skyrockets whenever he enters the game. It feels like every possession is a transition opportunity for Podziemski, and it opens up so much for his teammates.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Tie for best plus/minus on the team.

Inactive on Friday: Reece Beekman, Quinten Post, Pat Spencer