Player grades: Warriors vs. Pelicans

Well that was fun. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history on Monday night, by becoming the first team to start 0-3 and follow it up with an eight-game winning streak. And they certainly did it in emphatic style, as they positively crushed the New Orleans Pelicans, ending their home-stand with a 138-87 victory that was every bit as lopsided as the score would suggest.

Needless to say, the grades are going to be good for this one. As always, my grades are based on my personal expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing that player’s average performance.

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Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Monday’s games, league-average TS was 57.1%.

Gui Santos

21 minutes, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 31.5% TS, +21

You gotta love Gui. Even in a game where the Warriors were pouring in points faster than a bartender pours shots, Santos was content to just help out doing the little things. He attacked the glass and did a swell job of keeping the ball moving. He repeatedly found the open man and ended up with four dimes and zero turnovers. He was a big part of the strong defensive performance.

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He just does all the little things, and even though it doesn’t always come with offense, you can happily live with that on this team.

Grade: B+

Yaxel Lendeborg

27 minutes, 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-for-10 shooting, 4-for-4 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 97.8% TS, +34

Yeah. I think we have a star on our hands, friends. I don’t think Lendeborg is good, or even really good, or even has the potential to be a star. I think he is a star, point blank. It’s only been 11 games but that’s abundantly clear.

There was some Steph Curry in Yax’s game on Monday, in that he seemed to relish the opportunity to rip a team’s soul out. So often you see rookies get sloppy when playing in a blowout. At best they hog the ball and put on their own show; at worst, they check out because the outcome is determined.

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But stars like…

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Publish date : 2026-11-10 07:50:00

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