Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 118-108 loss to Los Angeles.
Ahh, well … back in the loss column. The Golden State Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 118-108 on Saturday night, in a star-studded game that lived up to the hype. But while it was a fun watch, it wasn’t a fruitful game for the Warriors, who fell back below .500.
So let’s rapid-fire grade the players. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, 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 Saturday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.
Andrew Wiggins
35 minutes, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 9-for-15 shooting, 1-for-6 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 64.8% TS, -19
Wiggins had one of the biggest shots of the game for the Warriors, a step-back, buzzer-beating three to end the third quarter, pulling the Warriors to within six. Had they gone on to win, that shout would have been remembered as hugely important.
It wasn’t Wiggins’ best defensive effort, but he was fairly comfortably the best offensive player for the Dubs on Saturday.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in rebounds, worst plus/minus on the team.
Gary Payton II
15 minutes, 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 5-for-6 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 100.0% TS, +1
Payton’s stint in the first quarter might have been the best moment that any Warriors player had on Saturday night. He made a pair of threes, seemed to deflect a pass on every Lakers possession, and was gobbling up rebounds. It was mesmerizing. He also started the second quarter guarding James, which was impressive.
Truly a great game for GPII.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Trayce Jackson-Davis
14 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 2-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 free throws, 29.1% TS, -2
TJD got thoroughly outplayed by Anthony Davis, but there’s no shame in that; all three Warriors centers did, and most NBA players do. He did have an active and athletic game and gobbled up rebounds. But a tough one on offense.
Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Buddy Hield
21 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 3-for-9 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 48.4% TS, -11
Another tough shooting night for Hield, and this time he didn’t really make up for it with defense or playmaking. A shake-it-off game.
Grade: C
Steph Curry
32 minutes, 13 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-17 shooting, 2-for-9 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 34.6% TS, -17
Speaking of shake-it-off games … well … here’s one.
I suppose, if you wanted to have a silver lining for the game, it was that the Warriors made it competitive despite not having Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, despite Davis and James playing exceptionally, and despite Curry having one of his worst shooting performances of the year.
Curry was fairly brilliant passing the ball, but otherwise, it was one of his worst games of the season.
Grade: D+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Kevon Looney
10 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 fouls, -10
A tough one for Looney but, again … such is the case for most players going up against Davis.
Grade: C-
Gui Santos
20 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 34.0% TS, -12
Santos’ shooting really came back to earth in this game, but he continues to impress with his basketball IQ, effort level, and defense. I thought he played pretty fantastic defense against James, which is no small feat.
Grade: B-
Brandin Podziemski
24 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 6-for-10 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 78.1% TS, +9
Not the best game for the Warriors, but maybe the best game of the season for Podziemski in just his second game back. He did everything: moved the ball well, scored brilliantly (including with some clutch shots), and played awesome defense. And in an intense game, he played more than half of it without committing a single turnover or foul. Just a tremendous game.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
21 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 4-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 63.5% TS, +7
Another game with some extremely clutch shots for Moody. But what impressed me most was how aggressive he was. What happened to the Moody who stood on the perimeter waiting to catch-and-shoot? Moody was taking every opportunity to attack the basket, and finished quite impressively.
He’s been playing the best basketball of his career lately.
Grade: A-
Quinten Post
23 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 57.1% TS, +2
If there was any doubt as to whether or not Steve Kerr and the Warriors core players trust Post, well … there shouldn’t be any doubt left. Against a superstar center, Post got about as many minutes as Jackson-Davis and Looney combined. It won’t be that way every night, and it’s certainly possible that Post will fall out of the rotation again, but … he’s certainly a legitimate part of the equation now.
There were some rookie moments, which is to be expected of someone playing in his seventh career game. He also had a burst of offense in the third quarter to help the Warriors get back in the game, and played arguably the best defense of any Warriors center. It’s to the point where I’m pretty excited whenever Post enters the game.
Grade: B+
Dennis Schröder
22 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 4-for-6 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 83.3% TS, -1
This was maybe the most comfortable Schröder has looked since the Warriors acquired him. He fit the system well in this game, and excelled at running the offense. Timely shooting, too.
Grade: B+
Lindy Waters III
2 minutes, 0 points, +3
Just some garbage time for Waters.
Grade: Incomplete
Saturday’s DNPs: Kyle Anderson
Saturday’s inactives: Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Pat Spencer