The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 110-105 on Tuesday night, in a battle between deeply injured teams. Only one team was actively trying to win, though, and that team did, indeed, win.
It wasn’t pretty, though it was for a little while. The Warriors blew a 16-point lead, but recovered to pull off a win, and put a halt to their four-game losing skid.
So let’s grade the players who handled business on Tuesday. 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. League-average TS is 58.1%.
Pat Spencer
41 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-16 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 41.5% TS, -5
Spencer didn’t have a particularly good game, but there’s still so much value that he provides. The Warriors only used nine players, which included a player on a two-way contract who is fighting through an injury, a player who was healthy for just the eighth time this season, and a player being carefully worked back into the fold after two months on the sidelines.
So while it wasn’t great basketball that Spencer played, it was extremely valuable for Steve Kerr to know he could trust the guard to play 40+ minutes and not make any huge mistakes along the way. And that’s exactly what happened. Spencer ran the offense well, competed on defense, and made a few buckets. His efficiency wasn’t quite as bad as it looks, since he had a few bail-out attempts.
Grade: B-
Malevy Leons
21 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 20.0% TS, -15
Leons didn’t play well. There’s no sugarcoating that. He’s also been gutting his way through a nasty wrist injury because the Warriors are shy on bodies, and he deserves a whole lot of credit for that.
Grade: A for the toughness
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team
Draymond Green
27 minutes, 1 point, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 12.9% TS, 0 +/-
A lot of good, and a lot of bad for Draymond. The primary takeaway is that it was a strong reminder as to how well he plays with Steph Curry. Steve Kerr synced their minutes up, and it’s just stunning how much chemistry and intelligence they have. It’s just a joy to watch.
But Green also did a lot of things that were not a joy to watch. Some of the turnovers really made you shake your head, and he was a complete non-factor scoring the ball. I also thought his defense wasn’t particularly good, at least by his standards (it’s always good relative to league average).
Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
De’Anthony Melton
29 minutes, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 7-for-12 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 3-for-5 free throws, 73.9% TS, -1
Melton had been in a bit of a rut for a while, but he broke out in a massive way in this game. In a game featuring not one, but two players with the surname “Curry” (curname? surryname?), Melton was the best perimeter scorer. His jump shot was buttery, and he was able to get whatever he wanted across the court. And when Sacramento tightened up on him? He found the open teammate for an easy bucket.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points
Brandin Podziemski
30 minutes, 20 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 4-for-6 threes, 6-for-6 free throws, 73.3% TS, +8
Not to be outdone, Podziemski was every bit as valuable a part of Golden State’s starting backcourt as Melton was. This was an exceptionally crafty game for the third-year guard, who not only repeatedly got good looks — either from the field, or by forcing his way to the line — but seemed to do so at the biggest moments. He’s really developing a reputation for stepping up when the team needs him the most, and making shots that shift the momentum in Golden State’s favor.
I especially enjoyed watching Podz use his patented deceleration in this game. Against a Sacramento team that is young, inexperienced, and highly athletic, he was able to get over-eager defenders in the air all night long. It was quite crafty.
Grade: A
Charles Bassey
27 minutes, 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 7-for-12 shooting, 58.3% TS, +9
No Al Horford? No problem. No Kristaps Porziņģis? No problem. No Quinten Post? No problem.
Bassey played in his second game since joining the organization, and was everything the Dubs needed at the center position. Against a Kings team that was athletic but not very refined, he was able to feast in the paint, rejecting defenders left and right, and hauling in crafty boards. And against a Sacramento squad that is rangy but not strong, he was a downright bully, pushing bodies aside for boards and buckets.
If he can repeat this performance, I’m going to have a lot of crow to eat as I pushed back a bit when fans were clamoring to add him to the roster while he was performing well in Santa Cruz. Hopefully that’s the case,because the Warriors don’t win this game without him.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Seth Curry
16 minutes, 9 points, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 2-for-4 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 78.1% TS, +16
Steve Kerr had the Curry brothers share the court for most of Seth’s minutes, and it was more than a feel-good story. It was a reminder that the Warriors system works so much better when there are two dead-eye shooters in it. A system designed for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson isn’t quite the same when you swap out Mychal Thompson’s son for Dell Curry’s youngest, but it certainly was beautiful.
Seth got a lot of open looks thanks to Steph, and he’s going to make them at a high clip. Don’t let the constant injuries or bench role fool you: he’s still one of the game’s elite shooters.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Gary Payton II
25 minutes, 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 5-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 76.1% TS, +7
A very solid GPII game. His offense has really been so good lately — the timing on his cuts is impeccable, and he’s greatly improved his finishing at the rim, as well as his passing. It wasn’t a good defensive game for the Warriors, but Payton was the exception there, as he had a very strong game.
Grade: A
Steph Curry
25 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 5-for-12 shooting, 4-for-11 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 63.8% TS, +6
Curry wasn’t quite as dynamic in this game as he was in his return to action on Sunday. Perhaps that was due to a little soreness after his first game in two months, or maybe it was just because Golden State didn’t need him to play as big of a hero role to win the game. He mostly lived on the perimeter, and didn’t attack the rim very much at all, with just one shot inside the arc, and no free throws earned inside it (his three trips to the charity line were a couple of four-point plays and a technical free throw).
Still, his shooting was dynamic, he got in on the action rebounding, and he had a few nice defensive plays. Given that he’s still playing his way back into shape, it was a strong game.
Grade: B
Doug Christie
The Kings are eliminated, and to attempt to work around the league’s new anti-tanking rules, Kings coach Doug Christie tried something new: intentionally fouling Seth Curry late in the game, sending a career 86.4% free throw shooter to the line under the guise of trying to win.
I get that draft picks are more valuable than winning meaningless April games, and I understand that coaches are under pressure from front offices to find creative ways to lose, and sure, it helped the Warriors. But please, have a little respect for the game. That was just pathetic.
Grade: F
Tuesday’s incatives: Jimmy Butler III, LJ Cryer, Al Horford, Moses Moody, Kristaps Porziņģis, Quinten Post, Will Richard, Gui Santos, Nate Williams
