The Golden State Warriors lost to the Detroit Pistons 115-101 on Friday night, in a game that was not as close as that score would suggest. The Dubs were outsized, outmuscled, out-talented, and out-executed.
We’ll get through the grades quickly tonight, because it wasn’t pretty. Frankly, the Warriors did not play as well as the score suggested: it was only that close because of a garbage time run, and because the Pistons had one of their worst shooting nights from distance all season, which was emphatically
not due to anything Golden State’s defense did.
As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Friday’s games, league-average TS was 58.0%.
Gui Santos
30 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-10 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 55.3% TS, -3
The best thing that Santos did in this game was sub back in after leaving the contest early and heading to the locker room. Thankfully he seemed just fine, and wasn’t hampered for the rest of the game.
He wasn’t the problem for the Warriors in this one, but he wasn’t the solution, either. He had a well-balanced stat line, but that includes a lot of turnovers and fouls. He did some good things on offense, but wasn’t particularly efficient.
Grade: C
Draymond Green
22 minutes, 0 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0.0% TS, -15
In the opening minutes of the game, we were treated to the total 2026 Draymond Green package. On the defensive end of the court, he took a gutsy charge when he stepped in front Jalen Duren, a very, very large human who was moving at a violent pace. Then, on the ensuing offensive possession, he made a truly atrocious pass for a turnover. On the very next possession, he defended brilliantly at the rim and then recovered in time to get the rebound. A few seconds later, he made a disastrous outlet pass for a turnover.
The Warriors chances are reflected in Green’s performances, and it was pretty clear from this one that nothing is going to come of this season.
Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Kristaps Porziņģis
11 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 42.5% TS, -6
Porziņģis didn’t play well in this game, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he left the contest in the second quarter with back pain, and didn’t return. Porziņģis didn’t sound terribly concerned after the game, saying the issue was back spasms and that he was quite stiff. He said he probably won’t play on Saturday against his former team, the Atlanta Hawks, but didn’t rule it out. Unfortunately, given his history, it seems much more likely that he misses a handful of games than that he misses none.
Grade: Heal up!
De’Anthony Melton
23 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 5-for-14 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 45.7% TS, -21
Melton was the only offense the Warriors had early in the game. He scored the first nine points for the Warriors (including the first five scored by either team), and by the time he took a seat on the bench for his first rest, he was the only player on the team to have scored. Unfortunately, things went from good to very bad after that. He stopped scoring, though he didn’t stop shooting. He couldn’t penetrate Detroit’s physical defense, and finished with four turnovers and no assists. His defense wasn’t good. Just a forgettable game for him.
Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
30 minutes, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 5-for-6 free throws, 59.3% TS, -6
It speaks to how poorly the Warriors played that it really felt like Podziemski was a non-factor on offense, and then I looked at the box score and realized he led the team in scoring and was one of the only players to have above-average efficiency. Go figure. Sorry, Podz. My bad.
All things considered, he was arguably the team’s best player, though it still wasn’t a great performance.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Gary Payton II
25 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-8 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 78.8% TS, -3
Relative to prior expectations, it’s been an absolute offensive explosion for Payton lately. Where are all these buckets from? He’s scoring so efficiently, because he’s feasting on cuts to get easy buckets at the rim. It’s pretty phenomenal, and a joy to watch. It also might result in him playing himself out of Golden State’s budget for next year. We’ll see.
Grade: A
LJ Cryer
16 minutes, 10 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-6 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 77.6% TS, +2
Cryer returned to the court after a few days off to heal up his hamstring. He instantly helped the offense in his return. His shooting is no joke, and the spark and spacing it provides is critical on a team that is missing Steph Curry and traded away Buddy Hield. He deserves to be on a guaranteed contract next season, whether with the Warriors or with someone else.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Pat Spencer
23 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3-for-6 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, -8
Not a very good game for Pat. He tried hard, but just couldn’t get anything going. He did a few good things, but it always seemed to require a whole lot of effort.
Grade: C
Will Richard
28 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 93.5% TS, -4
Richard had a sneaky good game of the bench. It was a tremendously efficient scoring game, as he was very selective with the shots he took … and then made them. He wasn’t quite as impactful as usual on defense, but he was still very good on that end of the court. Would like to see more rebounds and fewer turnovers, but all things considered, a strong game.
Grade: B+
Ömer Yurtseven
21 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 2-for-6 free throws, 41.5% TS, +2
Yurtseven was kind of scattered in this game. It reminded me of pickup basketball … he was all over the place, for better and for worse. He made some interesting shots, but missed a whole lot. He grabbed a ton of rebounds and loose balls but kept turning the ball over. Strong YMCA vibes, in good and in bad.
Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds, tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Malevy Leons
11 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 83.3% TS, -8
With respect to Leons, the most notable part of his game was a hilariously on-brand for Steve Kerr move: after Porziņģis left the game, Leons entered the starting five in the second half … despite not playing in the first half, and finishing with the fewest number of minutes on the team (other than Porziņģis). Zaza Pachulia would be proud!
Anyway, Leons played pretty well, I thought.
Grade: B+
Friday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, Seth Curry, Steph Curry, Al Horford, Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Nate Williams
