The Golden State Warriors had one of their most (positively) surprising games of the season on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, it still ended in a loss. Golden State was playing without Steph Curry, and mostly without Jimmy Butler III, yet they pushed the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder to the brink.
Still and all, it was a loss, albeit an entertaining one, at least in the second half, as the Dubs held the lead in the fourth quarter. Now let’s grade the players on the court for the 124-112 defeat. 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 Tuesday’s games, league-average TS was 58.3%.
Will Richard
25 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, -4
Not an easy assignment for a rookie second-round pick, going up against the best team in the NBA, and a hyper-athletic one at that. But Richard handled himself well. He was definitely bothered by OKC’s size and length, and had a hard time getting the space he needed to get clean looks off. But he had a strong defensive game and was always near the ball when there was a rebounding opportunity.
Jimmy Butler III
15 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 2-for-7 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 40.3% TS, -13
Butler, who was questionable entering the game, was pretty much a non-factor in the first quarter, then went off in the second when the Warriors desperately needing something from anyone. But as his game improved, his mobility faltered, and he looked extremely compromised. He didn’t come back out for the second half, and unfortunately it was a new injury, one suffered when he hurt his knee (and lost his sneaker) playing defense.
With Steve Kerr ruling Curry out for the upcoming three-game road trip, the Warriors can’t afford to lose Butler.
Grade: Please, please, pleaaaaase be okay
Draymond Green
29 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 59.1% TS, -17
Treymond Green lives! After shooting 0-for-7 from deep on Saturday — and just 8-for-39 over his last seven games — Green had a nice outing from beyond the arc. His scoring in general was nice in this game, and really helped keep Golden State in it, with some timely baskets. As always, the defense was very good, though not necessarily as dynamic as it sometimes is. Don’t look into the plus/minus … his minutes were timed with OKC’s starters.
Grade: B+
***Post-game bonus:***Led the team in rebounds, worst plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
15 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 30.0% TS, +2
Moody is going to have a chance to step into a bigger role with Curry — and potentially Butler — sidelined, but he fell short in this one. He couldn’t create any separation in this game, as he got nothing going inside the arc, and didn’t even get particularly good looks outside it, either. He really didn’t impact the glass much at all, and had a bad defensive game.
Brandin Podziemski
28 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-for-11 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 69.0% TS, -9
I’ll tell you one thing: Podziemski sure played a hell of a lot better than Jamal Crawford fared trying to pronounce his surname, that’s for certain. Podz gave the Dubs some offense when they most needed it, throughout the night. When they had no offense early on, he scored nine of the team’s first 12 points. When they were trying to make a run late, he hit an outrageous buzzer-beater to end the third quarter. He got a little too big for his britches from time to time — hence the four turnovers — but was one of the brightest spots for the Dubs in this game. A lot of moments of dynamism.
Grade: A-
***Post-game bonus:***Tied for the team lead in points.
Buddy Hield
28 minutes, 13 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 4-for-15 shooting, 2-for-9 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 39.8% TS, -12
The Hield that we saw in the first quarter was what the team desperately needs with Curry off the court. A high dosage of offense to keep things humming. Unfortunately, the Hield that we saw the rest of the way was a tough watch. He just doesn’t do enough to survive 4-for-15 shooting nights, though he had a lot of really nice passes in this game.
Jonathan Kuminga
16 minutes, 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-10 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 36.8% TS, +3
Kuminga is still searching for the offensive rhythm that he had early in the season. But while he is desperately looking for it, I can say fairly confidently that what the coaching staff wants is for him to rebound and defend like he did in this game. If he does that, the points are just an added bonus. It was a deeply impressive rebounding performance for the Warriors, and Kuminga was arguably the biggest reason why.
Quinten Post
18 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 150.0% TS, +6
Post is really coming into his own. It feels like his bad games are few and far between. His defense is so dramatically improved year-over-year, as is his understanding of the Warriors system and what reads to make. He’s really turning into a quality NBA player.
Grade: A-
***Post-game bonus:***Best plus/minus on the team.
Gary Payton II
27 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-9 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 68.9% TS, -9
I’ll be honest: when Payton started the season poorly, I thought there was a chance he might be cooked. You can be hones, too: you thought the same.
Well, we all owe him some apologies, I’d say. He’s been electric lately, and this was simply a superb game from him. Defense, scoring, clutch plays, sky-high rebounds, amazing passes, energy, etc., etc., etc. Just a fantastic all-around performance that seemed to get better the bigger the moment.
Pat Spencer
21 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls, 8-for-14 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 60.7% TS, -5
Hell yeah. That’s all I can really say: hell yeah. This was the Pat Spencer Game, and it was glorious. He made huge play after huge play in the fourth quarter as the Warriors improbably took the lead in a game they once trailed by 22 points.
He looked the part of a player who should be on a guaranteed contract, playing regular minutes. He’s not on a guaranteed contract, of course, and with De’Anthony Melton about to return and Seth Curry now in the fold, he probably won’t get regular minutes, either. But this was a strong reminder that he’s more than just a back-of-the-bench glue guy and spark plug. He’s a damn good basketball player.
Grade: A+
***Post-game bonus:***Tied for the team lead in points, led the team in assists.
Seth Curry
18 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 6-for-7 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 100.0% TS, -2
Curry made his Warriors debut at long last and … well … he kind of just looked like his brother. His first basket as a Warrior was a gorgeous — and difficult — stepback jumper to beat the shot clock, and from there it was game on. He scored on a dazzling array of jumpers, understood the system flawlessly, and made all the right reads.
Looks like he’s going to be a weapon.
Tuesday’s DNP-CDs: Gui Santos
Tuesday’s inactives: LJ Cryer, Steph Curry, Al Horford, Trayce Jackson-Davis, De’Anthony Melton, Alex Toohey