Assessing every Golden State player from the team’s 144-93 loss to Memphis.
Oh, lord. The Golden State Warriors had a few days of rest and a brand new point guard going into Thursday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. You be excused for being optimistic about the outcome.
Instead, they suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in recent memory. They came out flat, stayed flat, and ended flat, getting shellacked 144-93 in a game that somehow wasn’t as close as the score would suggest.
I don’t want to think about, or write about this article. But I’ve got a job to do, so let’s grade the players. I’ll try to make it quick, as I’m guessing you don’t want to read about this game. 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 Thursday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.
21 minutes, 19 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 6-for-11 shooting, 4-for-5 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 77.1% TS, -33
Prior to a garbage-time eruption from a youngster (more on that later), Wiggins was the only bright spot for the Warriors. He was the only thing close to a bright spot. He was the only player who could do anything.
10 minutes into the game, the Warriors had just 11 points, and Wiggins had nine of them. Would it have been nice if he contributed more on the glass? Yeah. And did he play a good defensive game? No. But on a night where the team collectively looked like they’d rather be anywhere than at the FedEx Forum, Wiggins actually showed up, cared, and put a bunch of points on the board with great efficiency. Unfortunately his teammates couldn’t follow his lead.
Grade: A
19 minutes, 0 points, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 0-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -42
Well, here’s something I’m not sure I ever thought I’d see in a game where Green wasn’t ejected.
0 points. 0 rebounds. 0 assists.
A donut through and through.
Green ended the night with a “1” in the good stats category, and an “8” in the bad stats category. And while you tip your cap to the Grizzlies for getting red hot, it also doesn’t reflect well on the defensive captain when the opponent scores 144 points and makes it look easy.
Grade: F-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
12 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-2 free throws, 17.0% TS, -23
It seems like Steve Kerr is going to try out a few different starting lineup iterations, and many will include Looney, who has firmly jumped over Trayce Jackson-Davis on the center depth charts. Looney definitely wasn’t the biggest problem for the Warriors in this game, but his inefficiency is really starting to hurt. A year after shooting 59.7% from the field and 67.5% on free throws, Looney is down to 51.9% shooting and just 43.6% from the charity stripe.
Grade: C-
22 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-for-12 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 19.4% TS, -34
Schröder’s Warriors debut didn’t really go according to plan. He couldn’t find any rhythm on offense, and while he had a few nice plays running the offense to show off his quarterback skills, he also was one of their worst turnover offenders.
Maybe he was just trying to fit in with his new team by copying what they were doing.
Grade: D+
24 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 0-for-7 shooting, 0-for-6 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 12.7% TS, -41
I said I never thought I’d see a healthy and not-ejected Green put up a line of 0, 0, and 0. I also never thought I’d see a healthy and not-ejected Curry put up a field goal percentage of 0.0% in a game.
Yikes.
Grade: F
20 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 75.0% TS, -25
Hield was solid enough, especially relative to the bulk of his teammates. He wasn’t the electric spark plug that can change games, but I’ll happily take a lower-output game with great efficiency.
Grade: B-
20 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 3-for-3 free throws, 81.0% TS, -4
TJD was definitely one of the brightest spots in this game, though there were really only three players who can earn that distinction. Great to see him have a good game at the free throw line, and he brought energy to the glass and the paint. A really strong showing.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
28 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 2-for-12 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 7-for-10 free throws, 33.5% TS, -23
With another scorer in Schröder added to the starting lineup, Kuminga moved back to the bench ... at least for now. His role remains to be a lightning rod of aggressive, athletic offense, and unfortunately in this game he couldn’t get it going at all.
The one bright spot is how many times he made it to the free throw line ... and the fact that he converted at a 70% clip once there. But this is definitely a game he’ll want to forget in a hurry.
Grade: D+
5 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 50.0% TS, -4
It’s a sign of just how bad Golden State’s offense was that Kerr barely turned to their defensive stopper, GPII, even in a game where they gave up 144 points. Payton didn’t make much of an impression in his limited action, for better or for worse.
Grade: B-
17 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-6 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 25.0% TS, -16
Waters just didn’t provide much in this game and, once again, his shooting stroke was off. Just struggled to find a way to contribute.
Grade: C
25 minutes, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 9-for-13 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 75.6% TS, -8
Podziemski certainly took notice that the Warriors acquired Schröder, which indicated an admission that they don’t think Podz is yet ready to fill that role. But one thing you can say about Podziemski in his young career is that he attacks every challenge not only head-on, but also selflessly. There will be no De’Vondre Campbell situation here. Podziemski seems determined to get better and earn a bigger role, while also embracing the arrival of his new veteran teammate.
And this was just one hell of a game for him. He was aggressive on offense, setting up teammates while also finding openings to score efficiently. He played a strong defensive game and was active on the glass. In a game defined by sloppiness, Podziemski led the Warriors in assists without committing a turnover, and tied for the team lead in steals without committing a foul.
It was a reminder to Kerr, Mike Dunleavy Jr., and his teammates that he’s going to stay in the mix.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists.
20 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 fouls, 4-for-8 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 68.8% TS, -6
Anderson had a tremendous game as well, largely helping the youngsters in garbage time. It’s great to see his three-ball starting to come back, after he opened the season shooting 9-for-34 from deep.
Grade: A-
8 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 foul, +4
Santos got his longest stretch of playing time this year, thanks to the game basically being garbage time since halfway through the first quarter. Still, it’s hard to gain too much info from a chunk of garbage time, and Santos didn’t do much of anything good or bad. He was the only player on the team with a positive plus/minus, which is fun, even if it’s mostly due to the play of the people he shared the court with.
Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Thursday’s inactives: Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Pat Spencer
