On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors had perhaps their most impressive — and certainly their most needed — win of the year. Despite playing the second-game of a road back-to-back against one of the youngest
and most athletic teams in the NBA, despite all of their road woes this year, and despite falling behind by 16 points early, the Warriors rode a 43-point third quarter to a statement 125-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
It’s time to grade the players that got it done, and these games are always a lot more fun to grade. As usual, 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 58.3%.
Will Richard
22 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 50.0% TS, +1
Richard was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday, which was surprising but also quite understandable. His cutting ability and spacing should certainly help a Warriors offense that has grown stagnant, though it didn’t on this night. And his perimeter defense certainly should help what has been a porous defense … and on this night it certainly did.
It really is remarkable how much older he plays than he is. How many rookies can play 22 minutes this early in their career, and be comfortable and content taking just two shots? He’s smart, composed, and selfless … and given the quotes made by Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler III after Tuesday’s loss, you can be sure those are the exact traits that the team is chasing.
That said, it wasn’t a great game for Richard. San Antonio’s length and athleticism bothered him a bit, as he struggled to rebound and had a handful of turnovers. But his defense offset the things he didn’t do well.
Grade: B
Jimmy Butler III
34 minutes, 28 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 7-for-12 shooting, 5-for-7 threes, 9-for-12 free throws, 81.0% TS, +6
I’d say “this is why the Warriors traded for Butler,” but I think that would be understating it. This wasn’t the case of a player helping keep the second unit afloat while Steph Curry rested; it was a true 1B to Curry’s 1A. 28 points on 18 shooting possessions? Eight assists with no turnovers? Six rebounds with no fouls?
Curry will get the headlines in this game, but the biggest moment of the game came when he was on the bench late in the third quarter. He had almost single-handedly erased the Warriors deficit, and the hope was that the Dubs could stay within striking distance for a few minutes while their star got some rest. Instead, Butler dominated on both ends of the court and quickly gave the Warriors a double-digit lead, which settled into an eight-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Don’t take it for granted. It was a superstar performance.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Draymond Green
27 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 6 fouls, 1-for-10 shooting, 0-for-7 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 25.5% TS, +15
This is one of the hardest performances I can ever remember grading. Green shot 10% from the floor; he needed 12 shooting possessions to score six points; the Spurs repeatedly asked him to try to beat them and he repeatedly obliged; he turned the ball over four times; he fouled out in less than 30 minutes.
That all spells “bad grade,” and yet I find myself wanting to … umm … well … give him an A+.
I won’t pretend to have watched every game that Victor Wembanyama has played, but I’ve sure watched a lot of them. And I genuinely cannot remember watching someone play defense against him that well.
That might sound crazy when you look at Wembanyama’s stats: he finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. But the value of a player as dominant as Wembanyama is less in the points they score, and more in the way the offense runs through them and brilliantly as a result. Wemby never looked comfortable against Green. He was often looking to get rid of the ball, and his shots were off-balance and moving away from the hoop. Most of his misses came with Green guarding him (while many of his makes came when Green was on the bench), and most of his eight turnovers came with Dray on the court as well.
In the end I’m settling here: I can’t give Green a perfect grade when there were so many things laid out on the stat sheet that he could have done better. But I still think he was the most important player for the Warriors, and his grade has to reflect that.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
26 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 6-for-13 shooting, 5-for-10 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 68.4% TS, +4
Moody got inserted in the starting lineup and, if I had to guess, he won’t be coming out of it anytime soon. This was just a fantastic performance from him. He completely shut down De’Aaron Fox — do you even remember Fox playing in this game? — and his 11-point second quarter gave the Warriors their first sign of offensive life all game, and helped them get to work erasing a 16-point deficit.
It’s been an up-and-down start to the year for Moody, but he so perfectly fits with what the Warriors need and want from him, and this was really just a perfect game for the fifth-year wing.
Grade: A+
Steph Curry
34 minutes, 46 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 13-for-25 shooting, 5-for-16 threes, 15-for-16 free throws, 71.8% TS, +5
This was one of those performances where the stats don’t do justice to the performance. And yes, I recognize that’s a wild thing to say after someone has 46-5-5 on excellent efficiency.
Curry, like the few other seminal talents in the league, has the ability to just take over a game and completely change the trajectory. He flirted with doing that in the second quarter when, after Moody’s offensive burst, Curry dropped in 10 points. And then he did it in earnest in the third quarter, scoring 22 points … despite resting for the final three minutes of the frame.
But it wasn’t just the numbers, it was how they were accomplished. Against one of the league’s best defenses, and against someone setting record books ablaze for his shot-blocking ability, Curry refused to follow the playbook of just settling for jumpers, and worked his way to the line repeatedly. He never backed down from Wembanyama, scoring in front of him, around him, and through him. He dragged the Warriors offense to success and refused to let them play passively. And when he wasn’t scoring 46 points, he was setting up the offense while turning the ball over just one time.
He just keeps impressing.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Al Horford
23 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 64.3% TS, -14
Horford, after resting on Tuesday, got a lot of run in this one. It was clear that the Warriors were only comfortable with Green or Horford guarding Wembanyama, and occasionally both. The result was one of, if not the best game that Horford has had during his brief Warriors tenure. He started to find his three-point stroke at the absolute perfect time, and played quality defense. This is exactly the player they were hoping to get when they signed him in free agency.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Jonathan Kuminga
12 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -10
Kuminga was removed from the starting lineup for this game, and I’m very curious to see how he responds. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait to see an answer to that. Kuminga was questionable entering the game with knee soreness, and didn’t look quite right when he was on the court. He went to the locker room in the second quarter, and was ruled out during the halftime break.
He might miss some time, but whenever he’s back on the court, it will be a pretty critical juncture in his career:
Grade: Heal up, JK
Buddy Hield
16 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 41.0% TS, -3
Hield still hasn’t really found his shooting stroke this year, but his game has been impressively well-rounded. I thought his defense really stood out in this game, and he made some critical plays on that end of the court. They do need more offense from him though, scoring or even passing.
Grade: B-
Brandin Podziemski
29 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 42.9% TS, +10
You’ve got to hand it to BP: the dude is absolutely fearless. He was removed from the starting lineup, and some of the public comments from Kerr, Green, and Butler could have easily been perceived as being directed at least partially at him. Yet he still played like he had absolutely nothing to lose.
That’s the good and the bad news. That mentality allowed Podz to make some critical plays on both ends of the court. He was everywhere, and also seemed to have a big moment up his sleeve. It also led to getting a little too big for his britches at times. The Warriors desperately want him to not turn the ball over, which he did three times, and he had a few plays that you could see visibly frustrated Kerr. It was the total Podz experience.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Quinten Post
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 steal, +2
Post didn’t do much in this game, good or bad. He didn’t play much of a role, which wasn’t surprising given the opposing team and the fact that Horford was available.
Grade: C+
Gary Payton II
15 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, +9
Payton has mostly been out of the rotation, but was called on in this game and delivered in a big way. I’m not sure if the plan was to play Payton — it would certainly make sense given San Antonio’s numerous high-impact guards — or if it was just Kerr’s desperation for some defense and rebounding, mixed with Kuminga’s eventual absence. Either way, Payton had his best game of the year. He was at his absolute best defensively, and snagged boards while surrounded by players much taller than he is.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Wednesday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gui Santos, Pat Spencer
Wednesday’s inactives: De’Anthony Melton, Jackson Rowe, Alex Toohey
