Warriors report card: Team grades for declining roster to open 2025 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
When we first pulled out our red pen and handed out the Warriors’ first report card of the 2024-25 season, it came after a frustrating loss to the San Antonio Spurs where a 17-point lead was squandered. However, it was only the Warriors’ fourth loss of the season in their first 16 games.
But two nights later, in the Warriors’ next game, an 18-point lead turned into a 10-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Golden State’s loss to San Antonio marked the start of a five-game losing streak in which the team’s outlook rarely looked bright. The Warriors’ 12-3 start made them look like a group that should not be taken lightly. Since then, victories have been rare.
The Warriors enter 2025 with a 16-16 record, good for 10th place in the Western Conference. What went well? And what’s wrong? Let’s break it all down to usher in a new calendar year.
Offense
Five and a half weeks ago on the first iteration of our Warriors report cardthey ranked in the top five in points per game, assists per game, 3-point attempts per game and 3-pointers made per game, while ranking seventh in offensive rating and 3-point percentage . Many of these numbers have collapsed.
The team that revolutionized the offense is now experiencing great difficulties on this side of the ball. This is perhaps their biggest problem. In fact, it is.
Through 32 games, the Warriors now score the 17th most points per game (111.5), two spots behind the Detroit Pistons. Although they take the fourth most threes per game (41.3) and rank fifth (14.8), the Warriors also come in at 17th in 3-point percentage (35.9%). . Their offensive rating (110.7) dropped all the way to 21st and was 23rd after their final game of 2024.
During their troublesome skid, the Warriors lacked layups, missed mid-range shots and didn’t convert enough from three. They don’t have players who can consistently create their own shot or go for a bucket, leaving 36-year-old Steph Curry capable of being guarded all 94 feet.
The Warriors have failed to score 100 points in eight games and are 1-7 in said games.
Grade: C-/D+
Defense
When active, the Warriors can still have an elite defense. But there are also way too many lapses in the same issues as last season, where too much help turns into wide-open shots, especially from beyond the arc and from the corners. On the season, they are now ninth in defensive rating (109.7), one place ahead of the Miami Heat.
Some of their losses include point totals of 91, 102 (twice), 104, 105 and 107 points. Other matches also saw them surrender 128, 136, 143 and 144 points. In addition to allowing 37 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third quarter of their most recent lossthe Warriors gave up just 26, 20 and 30 points in the other three quarters to the league’s best offense.
In that same game against the Cavs, the Warriors had five steals, eight blocks and forced 11 turnovers. They didn’t score a single point off those turnovers. The defense is not perfect. This isn’t the biggest problem either. The first thing the Warriors need to do is create defensive strength early on and take advantage of the moments when they do.
Grade: B
Stars
Father Time hasn’t completely caught up with Curry or Draymond Green, but he’s starting to be seen on the Ring Camera heading toward their door. Curry’s Christmas performance, where he scored 38 points and made eight 3-pointers, is the exact reason he still scares the opposition so much. He was fascinating.
Curry was also fantastic in his two 30-point games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he has only scored 30 points or more five times in his first 26 games. He did it 13 times in his first 26 games last season. Curry has also already been held to less than 20 points 10 times. That only happened three times in his first 26 games a season ago.
Green can still put together masterful defensive plays. Go back and watch him contest Kevin Durant’s game-winning attempt on him and you can see how phenomenal Draymond continues to be defensively. The Warriors are also at their best when he’s at center, and he can’t do that for long stretches right now.
So far, Green has played in 28 games. He averaged 9.1 points and a 42.9 percent success rate in his first 14 games. In his last 14 games, Green is averaging 7.7 points, on 37.7 percent shooting from three.
Andrew Wiggins, entering his 10th season, appears to have fully transformed into a 3-D player, an area in which he can excel. Wiggins is shooting 40.7 percent from three, but also has just 22 dunks and is shooting 52 percent on layups. He’s also only averaged 7.7 points in his last three games.
Grade: B-
Additions
At the start of the season, it seemed like Mike Dunleavy had gone out and found the perfect actors. De’Anthony Melton before his injury was the kind of complement that could thrive alongside Curry. Buddy Hield was on a heater and looked like a Sixth Man of the Year. Kyle Anderson was the veteran Steve Kerr always wanted.
And now Dennis Schröder replaces Melton. The Warriors are 2-5 in games with Schröder and he’s not in good shape at all, averaging 9.1 points on 29.7 percent shooting and 20.6 percent shooting from three. Hield just shot 30.5 percent from behind the 3-point line in December. For the month, he had one scoreless game, eight in single figures and only four in double figures. Anderson received five DNPs (Did Not Play) in December.
The additions became afterthoughts. The Warriors aren’t talented enough for that to be their reality. Schröder must find his way to fit in. Hield needs to get his chance again. As for Anderson, it’s hard to say when or if he’ll have a fixed spot in Kerr’s rotation again.
Grade: D
Youth
Jonathan Kuminga’s back-to-back 34-point games gave glimpses of a star. Then he scored 18 points on 4-of-15 shooting, including 10 from the free throw line against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the Warriors’ loss to the Cavs. Levels.
Brandin Podziemski’s 11-rebound game in a plus-13 win over the Houston Rockets reminded him of his rookie status. He recently had four straight games with a positive plus/minus before going minus-17 and exiting early against the Phoenix Suns. He was starting to come to his senses, and there was still much to be desired.
Moses Moody scored a season-high 19 points in the Warriors’ final game of 2024, but his place in the rotation remains up and down when healthy.
As Kuminga made headlines, Trayce Jackson-Davis’ recent jump was most impressive. His 16-point, 16-rebound game against Cleveland to close out 2024 is the latest example. Jackson-Davis finished the year with six straight double-digit scoring games, averaging 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds during that span.
Grade: C+
Health
The Warriors in their first 19 games had a healthy Curry. Since then, he has missed six of their last 13 games due to bilateral knee tendinitis. This seems like an injury for someone who will soon be 37 in March.
Gary Payton II is currently out with a left calf strain. Podziemski is day to day with an abdominal strain and Moody missed several games in December.
Grade: B
Training
Social media pitchforks automatically turn towards Kerr when the Warriors start losing. Is it his fault Buddy can’t buy a bucket? This Schröder shot is far from it, even when the Warriors ran pick-and-rolls over and over again in a game where Curry and Green sat? That their two stars are starting to look their age?
He may be questioned for pretending it was time for Kuminga to be a starter, only for him to return to the bench in no time. But his public appeals from Kuminga also seemed to be heard loud and clear.
Kerr has shortened his rotation, but he’s still looking for the right combinations.
Grade: B
Overall
Should you tell me? Take Curry and Kerr at their word.
When I asked them what their 16-16 record at the end of 2024 to start 2025 said about the Warriors, here’s what both said.
Curry: “As the kids say, we’re halfway there right now. We’re just very average.
Kerr: “You are what your record says you are. I think Bill Parcells said that, and I think there’s a lot of truth to that.
Neither has lost faith. Neither will have any illusions. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start.
Grade: C
