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The Golden State Warriors collected their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season on Monday, and it wasn’t a cheap one. Playing on the road, against a team with championship aspirations, the Dubs dismantled the Denver Nuggets, winning 134-114, and looking excellent along the way.
Through three games, the red pen had gotten some serious wear and tear, so I’m pleased to announce that it can get a rest day today. Load management! Grades will be mostly positive, because that’s what is deserved with such an impressive win.
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As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that individual.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. League-average TS was 58.1% last year.
Yaxel Lendeborg
31 minutes, 31 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 9-for-19 shooting, 1-for-8 threes, 12-for-13 free throws, 62.7% TS, +25
Let me repeat that line really quickly: 31 points and 12 rebounds on 62.7% true shooting. And now let me remind you of something really quickly: this was his fourth career game.
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It is abundantly clear that Lendeborg is a good player; a really good player, even. How good he can become is a different question for a different day, because the reality is, that right now, he’s a really good NBA player.
Lendeborg became just the fifth Warriors rookie since the turn of the century to have 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game (joining Steph Curry, Eric Paschall, Anthony Morrow, and Marc Jackson), and the history doesn’t stop there.
Again: this was his fourth game. It’s not like he’s figuring things out in March. He just got here.
Lendeborg was the team’s go-to option when Curry was on the bench … and often when Curry was on the court, too. He broke down the defense repeatedly, and got to the rim with ease, where he finished with absurd efficiency: he shot 8-for-11 from inside the arc, with 13 free throws. Occasionally he opted not to score after penetrating the defense, and instead dished to an open teammate en route to six dimes.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-vs-nuggets-player-grades-070530831.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-27 07:05:00
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