The Golden State Warriors lost again on Thursday night, falling 120-112 to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. It was yet another game in which they fell behind by a huge deficit in the first half, and their second-half comeback fell just short.
So let’s grade the players. As always, grades are based on my expectations, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for each player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Thursday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.
Buddy Hield
35 minutes, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 5-for-13 shooting, 4-for-9 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 55.8% TS, +6
A lot of good things from Hield in this one. Great energy, great effort and hustling, and very active playmaking and rebounding. Not his best scoring game, but not his worst, either.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Draymond Green
33 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 fouls, 5-for-7 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 0-for-2 free throws, 76.1% TS, -1
Draymond played very well, though he had the Herculean task of defending LeBron James when James was throwing back the clock, and no one can do anything about that. Some clutch plays, though also a few rough ones.
Grade: B+
Quinten Post
11 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 60.0% TS, -17
Post didn’t play poorly, but it did become apparent quite quickly that he wasn’t the right matchup for the game. The Lakers were scoring at ease in the paint and in transition, and Post was a part of that. He continues to show how bright his future is, though.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
34 minutes, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-10 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 2-for-6 free throws, 31.6% TS, -14
Podz did a bunch of great stuff in this game, but he also tried to shoulder a large offensive load and wasn’t quite up to the task. A very rough scoring game, from missing good looks to forcing bad ones.
But his rebounding, playmaking, defense, and hustle sure can keep the Warriors in a lot of games when things are going off the rails.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists.
Steph Curry
37 minutes, 37 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 13-for-35 shooting, 6-for-20 threes, 5-for-5 free throws, 49.7% TS, -3
The biggest takeaway from Steph’s performance is that it’s pretty damn clear why the Warriors felt the need to trade for Jimmy Butler.
The second biggest takeaway is that we shouldn’t take these Curry vs. LeBron matchups for granted.
Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Gary Payton II
8 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 33.8% TS, +1
A lot of energy from Payton, but not really a game where he was a good matchup, or made much of an impact.
Grade: C
Kevon Looney
12 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 66.7% TS, -7
Sometimes I get tired just watching Looney play. Dude works so hard out there. It really keeps the Warriors from falling apart sometimes. He wasn’t as good defensively as he sometimes is, but he still did a lot of work.
Grade: B-
Moses Moody
32 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 59.5% TS, +2
What a nice game for Moody. He had some of the team’s biggest shots, and most important plays on both sides of the ball. A little too aggressive at times which led to the turnovers, but I’ll take that from Moody. He’s blossoming before our eyes.
Grade: B+
Pat Spencer
17 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-9 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 68.9% TS, -2
We know the Warriors are likely to convert Quinten Post’s two-way contract, as they have to fill out their roster after trading four players for one. Might Spencer also get a chance to earn a guaranteed roster spot? He’s been playing fantastic basketball lately.
Grade: A
Jackson Rowe
15 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 0-for-5 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 0.0% TS, -1
A day after making his NBA debut, Rowe got into his second NBA game, and it came against LeBron on national TV. He looked a bit nervous on offense, but still did some really good things in this game, and showed some great hustle.
Grade: A belated A+ for making an NBA debut and seeing his dream materialize!
Trayce Jackson-Davis
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 steal, 1 foul, -4
TJD is firmly out of the rotation at the moment, though that will certainly change at some point. Steve Kerr gave him a little run in this game in hopes that it would spark the Warriors, but it didn’t.
Grade: C
Thursday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Gui Santos
