Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 131-116 loss to Houston.
Well, that was a [redacted] show and a half. The Golden State Warriors got their butts kicked on Wednesday night, losing 131-116 to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their Western Conference Playoffs series. Were it not for a late push by the third stringers, the score wouldn’t have been nearly that close.
On the happy side of things, that means we’re all set up for an exciting Game 6 on Friday night. On the grumpy side of things, we have to go through the unfortunate and grim task of ranking the players.
As always, grades are based on my expectations of 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. League-average TS this year was 57.6%.
Buddy Hield
18 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 2-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 33.3% TS, -22
Well, Hield was unable to replicate his Game 4 success. He put forth a decent amount of energy but … it didn’t really work towards anything. He couldn’t make an impact on offense or defense, though he lacked the game-ruining plays that some of his teammates had.
Grade: C
Jimmy Butler III
25 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 2-for-10 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 32.8% TS, -23
Butler had a bad game, though I’m not sure how much to blame him for it given that he’s still playing through obvious discomfort. He did have a brief spell when the Warriors were trying to get back into it where he was fighting very hard and making things happen but, overall, not good basketball. I’m giving him a generous grade only because he’s clearly compromised.
Grade: C
Draymond Green
18 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 87.5% TS, -29
I’m not sure how much blame to give Green for the Rockets having an explosive offensive game. On the one hand, the Warriors defense took the night off. On the other hand, sometimes teams just catch fire. The Warriors offense did themselves no favors, but the Rockets aren’t going to shoot or score like that on most nights, even against college teams.
Still, not a good night (relative to expectations) on that end of the court.
On the other end, Green’s struggles continue, even though he did have an efficient scoring night. Dray has just 11 assists this series, with 15 turnovers. Houston is handling him very well.
Grade: C-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
21 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-for-7 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 57.1% TS, -24
Podziemski was the least destructive of the Warriors starters, but he didn’t particularly play well. He got pretty beat up on defense, and couldn’t do enough on offense to make up for it.
Grade: C+
Steph Curry
23 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-for-12 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 2-for-3 free throws, 48.8% TS, -19
It’s certainly not at all time to be worried about Curry, but that’s back-to-back games where he’s really struggled to score. Curry had some decent passes, but some absolutely atrocious turnovers that set the tone early. He just didn’t make an impact, at least not positively. Just didn’t seem like he was in it.
Grade: D+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Gary Payton II
11 minutes, 8 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 66.7% TS, -9
So-so game for GPII. Had some impactful offense and some impactful defense, but was mostly whatever.
Grade: C+
Quinten Post
14 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 62.5% TS, -14
Post definitely looked like a rookie in this game. He had some good offensive moments, and seeing him collect a pair of blocks was great. But he looked lost for much of the game, and that is pretty well reflected in the turnover and foul totals.
Grade: C
Gui Santos
18 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2-for-4 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 71.7% TS, +7
Hey, we’re getting to the back of the bench … AKA the players who actually did well! Santos brought a lot of energy to a team that sorely needed it, even in the first quarter. Other players couldn’t match it, but he did well.
Grade: B+
Moses Moody
26 minutes, 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls, 9-for-18 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 63.3% TS, +6
It’s hard to grade Moody. He really struggled in a lot of the moments with the starters on the court, and at times seemed unplayable. But he brought energy that ended a huge drought in the second quarter, often ripping the ball from opposing players and simply refusing to go down without a fight. And once Steve Kerr turned things over to the bench, Moody was the team’s best player by a wide margin. He helped lead the comeback, which forced Ime Udoka to play his starters deep into the fourth quarter.
I still have a lot of concerns about Moody’s ability to play with the meaningful lineups in meaningful minutes, but for now … he was the brightest spot in an otherwise trash game.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and rebounds.
Kevon Looney
11 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 33.3% TS, +1
Looney is having an increasingly hard time making an impact in this series, and this game was no exception. There were some good moments, though.
Grade: C+
Kevin Knox II
18 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 5-for-13 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 48.9% TS, +14
A pretty awesome game from Knox. He came in after Kerr waved the white flag in the third quarter, and nearly made a game of it. He really put his athleticism on display, and flew all over the court, scoring from everywhere. It was a very impressive performance for someone who hadn’t been getting any extended run.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team
Pat Spencer
14 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 5-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 73.9% TS, +13
A perfect late-game appearance for Spencer. He played exceptionally well, and helped the Warriors get close enough that the Rockets had to wear out their starters a little. And then, to top it all off, he got into a scuffle and “headbutted” Alperen Şengün … not enough to be a dirty or violent play, but enough to hopefully keep the mental games moving in Golden State’s favor.
The Warriors aren’t backing down. I didn’t expect Spencer to be the one who made sure the Rockets knew that. But he was.
Grade: A+
Braxton Key
12 minutes, 0 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 0-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, +12
Key’s energy, defense, and rebounding helped the Warriors get back in the game, and gave us a temporary moment of thinking they might actually erase the deficit entirely. Had he been able to make layups, they might have actually pulled the thing off.
Grade: B+
Trayce Jackson-Davis
12 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 2-for-2 shooting, 0-for-4 free throws, 53.2% TS, +12
Well hello, TJD! We saw a whole bunch of attitude from Jackson-Davis and, like with Spencer, I think it will help set the tone for Friday’s Game 6. He got into scuffles, he mixed things up, he didn’t back down … and he played pretty damn well, too.
Grade: A
Wednesday’s inactives: Jonathan Kuminga