Well, that was not a fun game at all. The Golden State Warriors lost 123-85 against the San Antonio Spurs, in a game that was truly over before the Dubs even scored a point. They trailed 18-0 at the halfway mark of the first quarter, and with no Steph Curry to save them, there was never a chance on the road against a team that entered the night with a 10-game winning streak.
No one needs to spend much more time thinking about this game, so let’s run through the grades very, very quickly. As always,
grades are based on my expectations for each individual 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 57.4%.
De’Anthony Melton
18 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-for-11 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 36.4% TS, -29
Melton got the start in Curry’s absence, as I’m guessing he’ll continue to do. He did some good things, but also some bad things. His inability to penetrate San Antonio’s defense made it hard for him to quarterback the offense, and while he had some nice defensive plays, he struggled with the Spurs’ speed and length.
Grade: C
Yaxel Lendeborg
24 minutes, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-13 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 10.8% TS, -40
Well, there’s no way to sugarcoat this one, other than to say the obvious: these games happen to rookies, and they’re just part of the learning process. Lendeborg will get better because of this game, but he sure won’t have a fun time looking back through the film.
This was a double whammy for the Dubs’ first-round pick. It was his first game since he was handed the keys following Curry’s injury, and it was his first time facing a team like the Spurs. They don’t make players like Victor Wembanyama in the Big 10, and they don’t make defenses this long, fast, or rangy. Lendeborg was at a total loss when having to deal with those things, though credit to him for not slumping his shoulders, and still playing hard on defense and on the glass.
Grade: D-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds; worst plus/minus on the team.
Draymond Green
16 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 40.0% TS, -23
Green always feels like a barometer for whether or not the team can win. You can tell by his effort level whether it’s a winnable game for the Dubs. He came out energized on the first few possessions, while defending Wembanyama, and then it became clear that the Warriors had no chance and Green’s effort level waned with that. Can’t really blame him.
Grade: C
Brandin Podziemski
22 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 2-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 36.8% TS, -24
With Curry out for a few weeks at a minimum, the Warriors are going to turn to Lendeborg and Podziemski to be the first options on offense. Unfortunately, the first game post-Curry’s injury was a bit of a dud in that regard. Podz didn’t struggle as much as Lendeborg, but it was a very forgettable game for him, as he just couldn’t find any spacing against San Antonio’s length, and seemed uncomfortable all night. Props to him for not turning the ball over, though.
Grade: C-
Will Richard
30 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 71.7% TS, -27
You have to give Richard so much credit for being out there and playing heavy minutes despite his thumb injury. I thought he’d be out a few months, and instead he missed a single game. He also was not the problem for Golden State in this game, though perhaps he wasn’t the solution, either. He was competitive, which is more than some of his teammates could say, and he fought hard on defense while making a few things happen on offense. It was the kind of performance that stands out when you win, but showed some limitations because they lost.
Grade: B-
LJ Cryer
24 minutes, 20 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 7-for-17 shooting, 6-for-11 threes, 58.8% TS, -11
Cryer was, without a doubt, the brightest part of the game for the Warriors. Maybe the only bright part of the game, for that matter. With Curry and Brandon Williams injured, Cryer — who is on a two-way contract — is going to get some run.
He looked the part in this game. He was part of the first group of subs, and immediately started doing what his teammates had been unable to do: penetrate the defense. Like all the Dubs, he struggled to score once he did that … despite shooting better than 50% from distance, he went just 1-for-6 inside the arc.
The 20 points was a career best for Cryer, and a reminder of what he’s capable of with the ball in his hands. The Warriors will need him over the next few weeks.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists.
Al Horford
10 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, 0 +/-
Horford didn’t play much. Once it was clear that the Warriors were going to lose, there was no point in putting more miles on the odometer of the team’s oldest player. He was fine in his minutes, though.
Grade: B-
Georges Niang
15 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 62.5% TS, -15
Niang did some good things. He didn’t do any great things, but he did some good things, and he didn’t do any awful things, either. Just not quite athletic enough given San Antonio’s players, and I thought his defense had a rough go of it.
Grade: C+
Gui Santos
21 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-for-8 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 41.5% TS, -7
It was kind of funny: the Warriors started the game 0-11 and didn’t score for the first six minutes of the game, until they finally broke the ice on a Santos bucket. The same Santos who hadn’t made a field goal in either of the last two games. Go figure!
All things considered, Gui played pretty decently. He was making plays happen through sheer effort, and didn’t seem quite as bothered by San Antonio’s length as some of his teammates, though he still didn’t have an efficient scoring night. He kept a lot of plays alive on the glass, and was fine on defense.
Grade: B-
Charles Bassey
20 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 5-for-7 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 69.8% TS, -13
Bassey’s impressive play continued. On a night where the Warriors shot just 33.3% from the field, Bassey was the only player on the team to make more than half of his shots. He had some impressive rebounds as well. It wasn’t all good, though, as San Antonio’s size really got the better of him on numerous occasions. He struggled to contain anyone on defense, and the three turnovers and four fouls in the box score pretty accurately reflect how he played. But still: an efficient 11-and-5 in 20 minutes from the center position is something the Warriors are happy about.
Grade: B
Gary Payton II
13 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 33.3% TS, +2
Single-game individual plus/minus is perhaps the noisiest stat in basketball, but it still feels noteworthy — if not meaningful — that Payton was the only Warriors player to have a positive plus/minus in a game that they lost by 38 points. That’s more a reflection of when he was on the court than of what he did on it, but still … worth noting!
GPII played some good defense though, which is more than most of his teammates can say. He wasn’t a factor on offense, but then again, other than Bassey and Cryer, no one was.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Graham Ike
13 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 35.7% TS, -3
San Antonio has so much length and athleticism that they were able to bother Ike with it, even though both teams had pulled their core players and put in the subs by the time Ike got on the court. Still, with the exception of a bunch of missed shots, Ike played fairly well. He passes really well for his position, and the game doesn’t move too quickly for him. Did some nice things on defense as well.
Grade: B
Malevy Leons
14 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 86.8% TS, 0 +/-
You know something has gone very well or very poorly when there are 14 minutes of garbage time to hand out to the back of the bench. Unfortunately, it was the latter in this case, though at least that meant some extensive play for Leons, who I thought looked pretty darn good.
Grade: B+
Friday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, Steph Curry, Moses Moody, Kristaps Porziņģis, Brandon Williams
