The Golden State Warriors put on quite a show on Wednesday night. Despite playing without Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III, De’Anthony Melton, and Kristaps Porziņģis, and despite being on the road on the back end of a back-to-back, they crushed the (admittedly tanking) Memphis Grizzlies 133-112. It was a dominant performance, and the most balanced attack of the entire season.
There were just nine players available, and all nine played huge roles. So let’s grade those nine. 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 Wednesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.9%.
Moses Moody
28 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 84.1% TS, +6
Moody didn’t particularly stand out in this game, but he played quite well. His defense was solid, and he kept the ball moving. I’d still love to see him be more aggressive attacking the glass and getting out in transition, but I’m not here to argue with strong defense and elite efficiency.
Grade: A-
Gui Santos
26 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6-for-7 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 97.0% TS, +21
Like I just said above: I’m not here to argue with strong defense and elite efficiency! And Santos took that even a step further, scoring 17 points while only missing one shot — from the field or the charity stripe — all night long. His defense was so active, as he was disrupting passes on the perimeter, cutters in the lane, and shots in the paint. It really feels like we can see everything clicking into place for Gui … he’s turning into a high-quality role player.
Grade: A+
Al Horford
27 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 foul, 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 50.0% TS, +12
Horford is already the elder statesman of the team, but that’s especially true when Curry, Green, and Butler are out. It’s incredible how much he just calms the team down on offense and on defense, and how much more in control the Dubs are when he’s on the court. He didn’t have the most efficient scoring night, but his defense and rebounding were superb.
Grade: B+
Will Richard
30 minutes, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 9-for-15 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 68.0% TS, +6
Want a shining example of a player capable of impacting a game in many ways? Richard didn’t attempt a single shot on Tuesday; and on Wednesday, he led the team in scoring.
It was a masterclass in playing the right way. It felt like every bucket Richard scored came from either a perfectly-time cut, or beating nine other players down the court for a transition bucket. In fact, let’s just go through all his made shots, in order:
- A corner three off a pass from Brandin Podziemski, where he slid into the passing lane
- A corner three off a pass from Santos, where he slid into the passing lane
- A layup where he dove from the top of the arc down the paint, catching a pass from Podziemski
- An and-one layup where he cut from the corner, catching a pass from Malevy Leons
- A step-back jumper
- An uncontested transition dunk after he knocked the ball away on defense and then sprinted down the court
- A transition layup after he stole the ball and beat everyone down the court
- An uncontested transition layup after he — starting in the corner of the court on defense — beat everyone down the court
- An uncontested transition dunk after the Warriors forced a turnover and he beat everyone down the court
If you feel off-balance, don’t worry. That’s just the earth shifting under the gravitational pull of Steve Kerr smiling the largest smile in human history. Just an impeccable game by Richard.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Brandin Podziemski
31 minutes, 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 60.3% TS, +22
Podziemski was on triple-double watch for much of the night, and while he didn’t match his absurd 15-rebound total from the last two games, he now has 38 boards over his last three contests. That’s impressive for any player, but downright absurd for one as short as Podz is. He did an awesome job running the offense, both as a scorer and as a facilitator. He’s really stepping up to the plate lately, and taking his game to a new level after an up-and-down few months.
Plus, it was his birthday! Happy birthday to the youngest Warrior!
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Gary Payton II
28 minutes, 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-for-12 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 79.2% TS, +3
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really see that game coming from GPII, but he was tremendous. He was a menace on the perimeter, making life miserable for an Grizzlies player who dared handle the ball. And he had a great game on offense as well … like Richard, he did an excellent job cutting and beating everyone down the court.
Obviously we could live without the turnovers, but otherwise a nearly flawless game.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Pat Spencer
32 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 5-for-13 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 46.2% TS, +23
Spencer was absolutely masterful running the offense in this game. He was aggressive, but composed, and set up his teammates time and time again. The Warriors had 37 assists on 49 made buckets, and Spencer was the biggest reason why. But while he collected his fair share of dimes, the biggest thing was simply the way he kept the ball moving. Sometimes he put his teammates in position to score, but oftentimes he just put them in position to make the right pass, or to drive, or to get out in transition.
He struggled with fouls and didn’t score efficiently, but he just ran the offense so well.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, best plus/minus on the team.
Quinten Post
21 minutes, 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 58.1% TS, +9
Post has really started playing like a seven-footer recently. He’s stepped it up in a huge way on the glass, and defending the rim. He’s playing like someone who knows he needs to show the team that he can be a bonafide center if he wants to get minutes if and when Porziņģis gets back on the court. Just a very tough game from him … in the good sense of the word.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Malevy Leons
17 minutes, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 2-for-4 free throws, 66.6% TS, +3
Leons was part of the saddest moment on the court. In the waning minutes, Bob Fitzgerald had understandably grown invested in the idea that all nine Warriors could reach double figures. Leons was stuck on nine points, but drew a foul. Unfortunately, he missed both free throws, and kept the Warriors from having a slightly historic game.
That didn’t keep it from being the best game in the young player’s career. This was only his 12th career game, spread over two seasons, but it was emphatically his best. He entered the game with eight career points, then scored nine in this game alone. He entered the game with two assists and one block in his career; he matched those totals. He entered the game with one steal; he had two in this game alone. It was fun seeing him get some serious minutes for the first time, and he certainly made the most of them.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds, tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Wednesday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Kristaps Porziņģis, Nate Williams
