The Golden State Warriors played their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday, and it went quite well. Unfortunately, we’re living what feels like uncharted territory for many Warriors fans after the dynasty, where a game can go “quite well” and still be a loss. A double-digit loss, even!
But that was the case on Wednesday. The Warriors were hosting one of the NBA’s best teams, the San Antonio Spurs, and they were doing so without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III, or Kristaps Porziņģis. But they entertained, and they led for much of the game, often by double-digits. About halfway through the third quarter, they ran out of steam against a significantly more-talented squad, and the Spurs quickly flipped things around, winning 126-113.
Let’s grade the players who took the court for Golden State, for the final time until the unofficial second half of the season. 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 58.0%.
Draymond Green
30 minutes, 17 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 53.9% TS, -5
An absolutely throwback game from Draymond. We don’t see him play like this all that often anymore, especially when his career running-mate in Curry is sidelined. Green did it all in this game. He ran the offense masterfully, setting up his teammates with passes that were both technical and artistic. He contributed plenty of his own scoring, and was comfortably the leading rebounder for either team. And while Victor Wembanyama still got his, Dray played some beautiful defense on him, and made his life incredible hard. For a while it looked like the Dubs would pull off the upset, and Green was the biggest reason why.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists, tied for the team lead in points.
Gui Santos
30 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls, 4-for-11 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 37.9% TS, -1
It looks like Santos is going to get a chance to start for the rest of the year, and in doing so, he’ll get a chance to prove that he should be a key part of next year’s rotation. He certainly appears to be trending in that direction. There are still some young player lumps, as evidenced by this game: against an ultra-athletic, high-action team, Santos struggled both to score efficiently and to defend without fouling.
But the good far outweighs the bad. He is so active, and just always making things happen. His six assists were great, but he did just as much playmaking with his hockey assists and his screens. His defense, notwithstanding the fouls, was fantastic, as evidenced by the four steals … against one of the league’s best teams at taking care of the ball.
I have to give players a pass for not scoring well when Curry isn’t on the court. Turns out it’s very hard. Who knew! But Santos played very well.
Grade: A-
De’Anthony Melton
25 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-for-7 shooting, 5-for-6 free throws, 121.4% TS, +12
I don’t know much, but I do know this: Mike Dunleavy Jr. devotes a significant portion of each day to thinking about how he can ensure that Melton is on the team next season. At times the offense ran so well that you almost forgot Curry wasn’t out there, and that’s without even taking into account his Curry-esque shooting performance. He’s been the total package lately, and if he’s on the team next year, Steve Kerr will need to give some serious thought to the idea of having him be a full-time starter alongside Curry.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in points, best plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
35 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 fouls, 6-for-12 shooting, 3-for-8 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 66.0% TS, -3
Moody’s performance mirrored the Warriors in this game. It started strong. It looked elite for a good while. And then it ran out of steam late in the game. Moody was an offensive force to be reckoned with early in the game, and played some strong defense as well. He seemed to run out of legs in the second half. He still played well overall, but he looks like he’s ready for the All-Star break.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in points.
Pat Spencer
31 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-11 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 37.9% TS, -14
A fairly nondescript game from Spencer. He did some really good things with the ball in his hands, but at times looked overmatched, which isn’t abnormal when going up against super athletic squads.
Grade: B-
Al Horford
26 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-for-7 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 42.9% TS, -16
Horford has been on a tear lately, but this game was a little bit more pedestrian for him. Things probably would have looked a bit different if his three-point shot had fallen but, as it was, he didn’t have the all-around impact that we’re used to. Not his best work as a scorer, playmaker, or defensive player. But, not to sound ageist, that shouldn’t be too surprising with one of the league’s oldest players against one of the youngest and most athletic teams. Not a great matchup for him, especially without Curry.
Grade: C
Quinten Post
13 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 4-for-6 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 87.2% TS, +1
While Horford struggled, Golden State’s other center thrived. Things always look rosier when you make your threes, but it was a strong all-around game for Post, who made things happen all over the court.
Grade: A
Gary Payton II
14 minutes, 10 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-for-11 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, 45.5% TS, -12
Payton was one of many player’s whose efficiency took a big hit by not having Curry around. But it’s hard to find much else to fault in his game. He was moving the ball all over the court, getting out in transition, and playing exceedingly annoying defense.
Grade: A-
Brandin Podziemski
36 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 5-for-12 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 5-for-5 free throws, 56.3% TS, -27
Podz got hit with a truly brutal plus/minus, which really is just a reflection of when he was on the court. He played very in control in this game, having just one turnover and one foul despite leading the team in minutes played. His offense was huge when he first came off the bench, and helped give Golden State control early. He couldn’t stop the bleeding when he was on the court in the second half, but he wasn’t really the problem, either.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team
Wednesday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, LJ Cryer, Seth Curry, Steph Curry, Malevy Leons, Kristaps Porziņģis, Will Richard
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