US media releases detailed ratings for the Warriors: Starters get an A, bench a C, durability rated D as the biggest concern

On October 1st Beijing time, after resolving Kuminga’s contract issues and signing Horford, Melton, Seth Curry, and others, the Warriors’ new roster emerged. The well-known US media B/R evaluated their starters, bench, offense, defense, and durability. Are they a genuine title contender, or an aging squad unlikely to maintain full health throughout the season? Simply put: they are both. Here are the detailed ratings—

Offense: B+

Since the Warriors still have Curry, can we just give their offense an “A” and stop there? Maybe, but only if you’re willing to overlook more than a decade of data showing the Warriors struggle to score effectively without Curry.

Last season, the Warriors’ offensive efficiency without Curry ranked better than only 11% of the league’s lineups. The 2022 championship team’s offense without Curry was better than 28% of lineups, and the record-setting 73-9 Warriors had an offense better than 36% of lineups when Curry was absent.

Butler brings hope; last season during stretches without Curry, he led the team to an offensive efficiency better than 47% of lineups. His excellent ability to draw fouls should help the Warriors maintain their offense when Curry rests or is sidelined.

Bojemsky may ultimately prove capable of creating his own shot, and Post’s rookie season average of 9.4 three-point attempts per 36 minutes at a 40.8% shooting rate shows potential to become one of the league’s premier shooting big men. Starting center Horford has exceeded league-average three-point percentages in six of the past eight seasons, which is remarkable for a big man with his volume.

The Warriors likely possess an unprecedented ability to maintain good spacing even with both Draymond and Butler on the court simultaneously.

Considering the core players’ potential decline due to aging, an “A” grade may be a bit generous, but with Butler added, the Warriors rank seventh in league offense and are expected to remain in the top ten for the 2025-26 season.

Defense: A-

After last season’s trade deadline, the team with the best defensive efficiency in the league was not the eventual champion Thunder, nor the physically imposing Rockets, nor the tough Magic—but the Warriors.

Green placed third in Defensive Player of the Year voting; Butler’s intelligence and strength allow him to guard everyone except the most agile wings; Bojemsky ranks among the league leaders in drawing offensive fouls; Payton II remains a pesky defender; Melton has been rated an elite backcourt defender over the past six seasons based on defensive plus-minus; and despite nearing 40, Horford still maintains the ability to switch onto perimeter guards.

Although most associate the Warriors with the three-point revolution and high-paced offense, their dynasty’s most consistent factor has been defense. Except for the 2019-20 season, when Durant left and Curry was injured, the Warriors’ defensive efficiency hasn’t fallen below average since 2012-13. Since then, they’ve ranked in the league’s top ten defense for nine seasons.

As in previous years, the Warriors remain one of the league’s best defensive teams, even though many still view them as an offense-first squad.

Starting Lineup: A

Point Guard: Curry

Shooting Guard: Bojemsky

Small Forward: Butler

Power Forward: Green

Center: Horford

Melton started twice in six games for the Warriors last season and has reason to replace Bojemsky in the starting lineup this season. The Warriors lack ball-handling creators, and Bojemsky might perform better as a second-unit leader. That said, when Curry, Bojemsky, Butler, and Green shared the floor last season, their net rating was +15.0.

That is compelling empirical evidence.

Coach Kerr used 38 different starting lineups last season, the most in his Warriors tenure. This was partly due to the midseason trade swapping Wiggins for Butler and also injuries. Nevertheless, we should expect adjustments from a coach who isn’t afraid to experiment or make changes when things aren’t working on the court.

Bench: C

Guards: Melton, Payton II, Hield, Richard

Wings: Kuminga, Moody, Santos

Bigs: Post, Jackson-Davis

In lineups without Curry, Hield’s shooting will be critical, as will Post’s shooting. If the Warriors can’t field a playmaker who can use spacing effectively, having spacing alone is useless—this is a major weakness of the roster.

Although no player besides Curry in the starting five can reliably break down defenders off the dribble to force defensive rotations, they have enough talent and experience to overcome defenses.

The bench should be able to play energetically; the Melton-Payton duo will make life difficult for opposing ball handlers. But neither is a pick-and-roll initiator or a player who can create opportunities from scratch. Especially Payton, who is essentially a 6’2” power forward relying on timely cuts and spot-up shooting to score.

Unless Kuminga can realize his own belief that he has the ability to be a primary option and lead the team alone, scoring will be a problem for this lineup. He hasn’t proven it yet, and after a prolonged free agency stalemate, he may not be eager to try. If Kuminga cannot prove himself, the Warriors will have to force turnovers to get easy fast-break points against chaotic defenses.

If the Warriors’ bench can simply break even in wins and losses, that would be considered a success.

Durability: D

Curry (70 games) and Green (68 games) combined for 138 games last season, their highest since 2016-17, and now both are a year older, making it difficult to match that number. Butler has only played more than 70 games twice in his career and hasn’t exceeded 65 games since 2018-19.

If the Warriors manage to have their three stars on the court together for 45 games this year, it would be a miracle.

Whenever the Warriors can’t field their full lineup, all the small issues with backcourt playmaking, secondary scoring, and spacing worsen. It’s likely they will frequently miss a key player during games.

In theory, when Curry or Butler is absent, Kuminga can take on a bigger role. His ability to draw fouls and control stretches of the game with pure athleticism makes him the best candidate to support a weakened lineup. But in reality, Kuminga has never consistently succeeded in that role.

Final Rating: B

The starting lineup could be elite on both ends of the floor, and as long as the Warriors stagger the bench with the starters, the bench’s weaknesses won’t be so apparent. After the trade deadline, the Warriors went 23-8 (25-5 with Butler) and posted a +9.5 net rating in that closing stretch, ranking third in the league.

When fully healthy, the Warriors play like a true contender. However, on most nights, full health is unlikely. This must lower the team’s overall rating by a notch, though Kuminga or Bojemsky could break out (or Kuminga could be traded for a more immediately impactful player) to change the outlook.