Well, Wednesday sure was a bad day for Bay Area basketball. A should-have-been thrilling doubleheader began with disappointment when the Golden State Valkyries were blown out by the Atlanta Dream in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, and ended with disappointment when the Golden State Warriors were blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers in their first game of the season.
It can only get better from here … I hope. Maybe I just jinxed things.
With the first game tragically in the books, it’s time to break out the red
pen for the first time this season, and dole out some grades. Spoiler alert: they won’t be very good!
As is always the (admittedly strange) rubric around here, grades are based on my expectations for each individual player, with a “B” grade considered the average for that player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Last year, league-average TS was 58.1%.
Gui Santos
25 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 foul, 5-for-10 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 55.2% TS, -14
Statistically, Santos had one of the better games for the Warriors. But it’s hard to get over just how much he was alone on a haunted island every time Luka Dončić attacked him. Mind you, Dončić is one of the greatest scorers to ever live, so having a rough go defending him is not exactly a fatal flaw; if it were, there wouldn’t be enough players to field an NBA team, let alone 30 of them. But this was a particularly uncompetitive matchup, which is part of why Steve Kerr tried so hard to make sure that Santos didn’t end up with that assignment throughout the game.
Good energy and hustle as always, but not a very competitive showing until the white flag was coming out.
Grade: C-
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds
Yaxel Lendeborg
29 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 5-for-11 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-3 free throws, 48.7% TS, -21
From a strictly basketball standpoint, Lendeborg had a lot to like and a lot to work on in his NBA debut. But from an entertainment standpoint? He already appears to be the savior we’ve been searching for. The No. 11 overall pick was the most entertaining part of an otherwise dreadful game, and if it weren’t for a Steph Curry flurry in the first quarter, the Michigan product might have been the only entertaining part of the game.
He wasted no time getting into it with Dončić. He trash-talked him all night long, and even picked up a technical foul in the second quarter — with an accompanying fine that I have zero doubt will be covered in full by Draymond Green.
I’m not sure the trash-talking worked, as it seemed to light a fire in Dončić, but it was hardly reckless, either. It was the type of mentality the Dubs are sorely missing, especially with Jimmy Butler III sidelined. How do we know it wasn’t reckless trash-talking? Because after the game, Green, Curry, and Kerr all commented on how much they loved it. You’re not going to get those comments — especially from Kerr — if the team sentiment was that Lendeborg was running his mouth detrimentally.
And perhaps the best part? The rookie didn’t back down from it when the game ended. Instead, he doubled down on it.
It unfortunately looks like the Warriors might have a rough season, but thanks to their first-round pick, it certainly figures to be an endlessly entertaining one. Thank you for that, Yaxel; you not only will make this season far more fun, but you’ll make my job so much easier.
With the important stuff out of the way, let’s talk about how he played. There were some bumps and bruises along the way, and it was clear that he has an adjustment to make with the size and physicality of the league. Lendeborg had said during the preseason that rebounding was easier in the NBA than in college because pro players don’t try as hard, but in this game it was clear that facing a motivated Walker Kessler in a meaningful contest was a different experience. He only grabbed three rebounds, and there were a few instances where he was caught ball-watching and out of position.
That’s stuff he’ll learn, and there’s still some growth to do within the offensive system, as well. But, critically, I thought he not only stood up to Dončić in the verbal department, but played strong defense against him as well. He didn’t shut him down — no one does — but Lendeborg’s defense was very solid, I thought.
And a hot mic suggested that Kerr thought Lendeborg was playing against more than just five players, too (a sentiment he repeated on a normal mic in his post-game presser).
All in all, a very successful debut for Yaxel, who looks like he will more than hold his own on both ends of the court, while being wickedly entertaining on and off it.
Grade: A for the defense, the debut, and the trash talk
Draymond Green
21 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 25.0% TS, -22
Draymond dropped some dimes early on, as his playmaking was excellent in the first quarter. As is so often the case with Green, his performance and effort seemed to wax and wane with the team’s competitiveness. Once the game started to slip away, Draymond stopped playing well, and started turning the ball over with less disciplined defense. He was a non-factor scoring.
Grade: D+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, tied for the worst plus/minus on the team
De’Anthony Melton
21 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 0-for-2 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 0.0% TS, -16
Melton wasn’t supposed to start this game, but was pressed into a different role due to Brandin Podziemski’s sore back. And all we can really say is: heal up, Podz. Melton is better than this — much better than this — but it helps to play the role you’re supposed to play. Hopefully he looks better when he returns to the bench. It wasn’t really that Melton did anything awful in this game, so much as that he played nearly half of the contest and I don’t seem to remember him ever actually being on the court.
Grade: D+
Steph Curry
21 minutes, 23 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 7-for-15 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, 7-for-7 free throws, 63.6% TS, -22
The first quarter was absolute vintage Curry. It was a reminder that the Warriors can never be counted out, because they have one of the 10 greatest players to ever step on the hardwood court. Steph had 14 of the Warriors’ first 17 points, which was both a reminder as to how great he is, and a warning about how reliant on him the Dubs are. He finished the first quarter with 16 points, but then only had seven more for the rest of the game (though his minutes were very limited due to the blowout).
He was better than usual and then he was worse than usual. For that, we give him an average grade.
Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Gary Payton II
18 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 5-for-9 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 55.6% TS, -18
Some good stuff from GPII scoring and keeping the ball alive. As is often the case, his work on the glass was better than the rebounding total suggests. But it wasn’t a very impactful game. Much of his scoring came with the outcome already decided, and he wasn’t able to have his usual defensive impact.
Grade: C
Georges Niang
20 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 3-for-8 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 41.5% TS, -9
I’m optimistic about Niang’s impact this year, and you could see glimpses of it. He made a handful of winning plays that required either high effort or high IQ, and those didn’t slow down even as the game got out of hand. At the same time, he looked a little bit like it was still the preseason, and let’s be honest: his best skill is his three-point shooting, so when he goes 0-for-4 there, it’s going to be hard to have an impact.
Grade: C
Al Horford
17 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 0.0% TS, -13
Horford’s role just got a lot larger now that it appears the Warriors’ future doesn’t include Kristaps Porziņģis. Unfortunately, the Warriors are going to need a lot more from Horford than they got on this night. He looked a touch slow and still in preseason rhythm and, like Niang, couldn’t make his jumpers.
Grade: C-
Brandon Williams
18 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-12 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 7-for-7 free throws, 46.4% TS, -7
I’m not sure if I’d call this a “good” game from Williams, per se, given the lack of efficiency. But my goodness was it an exciting glimpse of what he can bring to this team. You have to go back to Jordan Poole’s tenure to find someone on the team who was that quick with the ball in his hands, and that explosive. It’s simply an element that has been missing from Golden State’s offense for years, and it was exciting seeing it return. Williams was an instant spark plug when he entered the game, breaking down the defense and getting wherever he wanted on the court. He sought out contact, was crafty with the ball, and did a good job playmaking as well.
He brings something the team desperately needs, and that was evident even amidst his shooting struggles.
Grade: B-
Will Richard
20 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 fouls, 4-5 shooting, 0-for-1 free throws, 73.5% TS, 0 +/-
It seemed like Richard might be on the outside of the rotation looking in after the preseason, but Podziemski’s injury opened up a lot of minutes for the second-year guard, and he certainly made the most of them. To my eye, Richard looked a little larger and more physical than he did as a rookie, and he put that to use by attacking the rim both with and without the ball, and also while attacking rebounds. As is almost always the case with Richard, he played in control, made smart plays, and didn’t make mistakes. A quality opener for him.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Malevy Leons
9 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 0-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, +10
Leons, who is on a two-way contract this year, got a steady run to end the game once the outcome was determined. He didn’t do much statistically, but I thought he played really good defense.
Grade: B-
LJ Cryer
9 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 65.4% TS, +10
Cryer, another two-way contract, also got some good run to close out the game, and he really made the most of it. The sharpshooter impressed last year, and picked up where he left off in his season debut. It’s hard to see Cryer getting playing time early in the year — he needed garbage time to see action in this game, and that was with Podziemski, the starting shooting guard, injured — but he certainly made a strong audition. If he keeps playing like this, it will give Kerr the option to elevate his role should Melton, Payton, or Williams struggle at any point.
Grade: A
Graham Ike
12 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 84.0% TS, +12
I thought we might see Ike earlier in the game. Kerr had been open about how much the undrafted rookie deserved playing time, so with both Porziņģis and Charles Bassey sidelined, I thought the Gonzaga product might get into the game before it was determined.
Instead, Ike had to wait until the start of the fourth quarter, with the team trailing by 34 points, to make his NBA debut. And then he stayed on the court the entirety of the 12 minutes, was arguably the best player on the court for either team during that stretch, and made one hell of a case that he should get more meaningful minutes the next time out (he’ll certainly play this weekend, as the Dubs have a Friday/Saturday back-to-back and Horford will only play in one of those games).
Ike’s offense was smooth, his defense was strong, and he was constantly in the right place. He was physical and athletic, and the game didn’t appear to move too quickly for him. I’m excited to see what he can do the next time out.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team
Wednesday’s inactives: Charles Bassey, Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Kristaps Porziņģis
