Golden State Warriors: 2016-17 First Quarter Grades

Zaza Pachulia

If there were one member of Golden State’s highly vaunted starting lineup that’s been “disappointing,” if you could even call it that, it’d be Zaza Pachulia at center.

There was no question the Warriors had to shed a considerable amount of depth and rim protection to make room for Kevin Durant, and they certainly will miss Andrew Bogut‘s presence in the paint as the season progresses.

A year after averaging 8.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the Dallas Mavericks, Pachulia has seen his numbers shrink to 4.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Nobody expected him to average a double-double, but from his rebounding to his 0.8 blocks per game, he’s been disappointing nonetheless.

Well, with the exception of this:

That being said, the Warriors are still up to sixth in defensive rating despite his lack of rim protection and paltry numbers in his 17.5 minutes per game. The Dubs are essentially foregoing the starting center position over the course of a full 48-minute game, using Zaza, JaVale McGee and small-ball lineups to tag-team the available minutes at the 5.

Only time will tell if that’s sustainable over a full 82-game season, let alone a playoff run to another championship, but for now, the Warriors are cruising without requiring too much of Zaza, who is also shooting 50 percent from the floor.

Pachulia has the best defensive rating among Golden State’s regular rotation players at 99.4, and despite his lack of raw production, he’s been good enough in limited minutes.

Grade: B-