The Golden State Warriors lost their second game in a row on Thursday night, and unfortunately, it was distinctly different than their Tuesday loss to the Toronto Raptors. In that game, the Warriors played
decently — you could even argue they played well — but an outlier shooting performance from the Canadians doomed the Dubs. But on Thursday, the Warriors lost 123-115 because they simply didn’t play all that well. Which is, in fairness, the most common way to lose a basketball game.
So let’s grade the group that moved the Dubs to 0-2 in the post-Jimmy Butler III era. As always, grades are based on my expectations of 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 Thursday’s games, league average TS was 58.1%.
Moses Moody
23 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 80.6% TS, -5
A pretty solid game for Moody, who continues to shoot very efficiently. In his last six games, Moody is shooting 29-for-48 from the field, including 21-for-37 on threes. I would stop short of calling his defense great, but it’s been reliably good, bordering on very good. This was just a very solid all-around game for Moody.
Grade: A-
Gui Santos
17 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 foul, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 50.0% TS, -5
Santos got to partake in the starting lineup, and that was fun to see. His energy on the glass was necessary to keep the Warriors in the game, though he had some struggles on offense.
Grade: B
Draymond Green
23 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 6 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 34.0% TS, -15
I don’t know if it’s a generic slump or if he’s feeling deflated following the Butler news, but Green did not look like Green in this one. He just didn’t appear to be moving at his usual speed, especially with his decision-making. He had some very rough turnovers, and fouled out despite playing less than half the game. His defense wasn’t up to standards, and the game shift a bit when he collected a flagrant foul. Just a bad game. No two ways about it.
Grade: D
Brandin Podziemski
33 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-13 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 32.4% TS, +10
Podziemski is more of a do-the-little-things player than a go-to scoring option, but sometimes he plays like he should be the secondary scorer. Occasionally that works out well, but often it does not. On Thursday, it did not, as he could not buy a bucket, though he kept trying.
In Podz’s defense, he also played the role of elite playmaker, with a 10-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio that the Warriors will take eight days a week. He really showed off his quarterbacking chops in this game, and also played some really strong defense. Honestly, it was a really good game minus the atrocious shooting. We’ll call it even.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Steph Curry
34 minutes, 38 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 14-for-27 shooting, 8-for-15 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 68.1% TS, -24
This game was the ultimate display of things changing and things staying the same. There was Steph, donning his hero’s cape, just like old times. There was Steph, draining an absurd number of threes, while carrying the team and putting up a gaudy points total, just like old times. And there were the Warriors, losing to a bad team despite his efforts, unlike old times. And there was his running mate Klay Thompson, scoring just six points while coming off the bench for the opposing team, very unlike old times.
Enjoy Steph while he’s still doing it, folks. He’s a treasure, even in an increasingly lost season.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Gary Payton II
17 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-6 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 33.3% TS, -32
Payton’s minutes weren’t as bad as his plus/minus would suggest, but they weren’t particularly good, either. He’s been doing some good things on offense lately, but not so much in this game, and his defens wasn’t very impactful.
Grade: C–
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Will Richard
13 minutes, 0 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 fouls, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -5
Something I’ve been wondering lately: if the Warriors season fully falls apart post-Butler, and they completely turn their attention to the 2026-27 season, will Richard get a bigger role? It might be worth playing him 30 minutes a night and seeing what happens.
Anyway, his offense has really disappeared since his hot rookie start, but his defense was utterly blissful in this game. He was so active, and seemed to deflect everything. That will get you minutes on a Steve Kerr team.
Grade: B+
De’Anthony Melton
24 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 9-for-15 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 3-for-6 free throws, 62.4% TS, +22
I know Kerr loves having Melton lead the second unit, but I think it’s time to start him, assuming he’s enough recovered from his ACL injury that he can play 30 minutes a night (which, admittedly, may not be the case). Kerr can still stagger Melton and Curry’s minutes enough so that one is always on the court, but you might as well start with your best players. And this game was yet another data point supporting the increasingly obvious: with Butler out, Melton is the team’s second-best player.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Al Horford
26 minutes, 3 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 37.5% TS, +2
If the Warriors could just build the entire team out of Curry, Melton, and Horford, they’d be in pretty darn good shape. Those guys are good. Everyone else? TBD.
Grade: A-
Jonathan Kuminga
9 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 3-for-3 shooting, 4-for-4 free throws, 105.0% TS, +18
Kuminga’s game was a mixed bag. He entered in the first quarter and immediately set to work, quickly recording two dynamic and-ones that were a strong reminder as to how gifted he is offensively. He gave great effort on the glass and played tremendous defense. The Warriors were so much better when he was on the court.
And then he got hurt in the second quarter, appeared to injure his ankle, and was ruled out for the rest of the game with knee soreness. He’s scheduled for an MRI, and we all nervously await the results.
Grade: A+/fingers crossed
Buddy Hield
15 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 2-for-7 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 40.3% TS, -2
Hield is the definition of hot-and-cold. He couldn’t miss on Tuesday. He couldn’t make on Thursday. So it goes.
Grade: C
Quinten Post
6 minutes, 2 points, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 33.3% TS, -4
Post was not only removed from the starting lineup for this game, but nearly removed from the rotation entirely. He’s been struggling lately, and this game was no exception.
Grade: C-
Thursday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Pat Spencer
Thursday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Malevy Leons
