The Golden State Warriors lost to the Sacramento Kings 123-117 on Wednesday night. It was a disappointing and deflating loss, because the Dubs carried a 17-point lead into the halftime locker room. The late-game execution was fairly awful, and they looked overmatched when they lost momentum.
And yet, as I wrote in the recap, it still was an encouraging performance, considering that the Kings were red-hot, at home, and fully healthy, while the Warriors were without their best defensive player, their second-best scorer, and two key bench players, while also losing their starting center in the first half.
So if the grades are more optimistic than you’re feeling after that meltdown, that’s why. 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. Entering Wednesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.4%.
Andrew Wiggins
38 minutes, 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-for-20 shooting, 5-for-11 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 56.3% TS, -8
A very strong all-around game for Wiggins. He was the best scorer for the Warriors for much of the night, both when they built a big lead and when they were scrambling to stop the bleeding in the fourth quarter. He had some clutch shots late in the game that would get a lot of attention had the Warriors won.
Pretty good defensive effort, too.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Gary Payton II
13 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 62.1% TS
Kind of an extreme highs-and-lows game for GPII. He had some brilliance on both ends of the court, but was also a bit out of control with an rather painful four turnovers and three fouls in just 13 minutes of action.
Grade: C
Kevon Looney
9 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 0-for-3 shooting, 0.0% TS, +6
Looney moved back into the starting lineup, though it seems the plan wasn’t to play him too much, even before he left the game with illness. I didn’t think he played well, but I won’t be too harsh on him given the sickness.
Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Buddy Hield
25 minutes, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-12 shooting, 5-for-9 threes, 70.8% TS, +3
Pretty darn good game for Hield. He got back to being the aggressive, efficient scorer that the Warriors thought they had earlier in the season, while maintaining the improved defense that has been the mark of his play over the last month. He was also exceptionally timely, with some ultra-clutch shots.
Grade: A
Steph Curry
34 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 6-for-11 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 61.2% TS, +2
Kind of a weird Curry game. He went full quarterback mode, deferring to teammates and looking for shooters constantly, en route to a season-high 12 assists. That looked like a brilliant choice in the first half, when his teammates were making seemingly every open shot.
But it looked less like a choice and more like settling in the second half, when the Warriors needed Curry to start scoring and he simply couldn’t get open very frequently. Sacramento focused their entire defensive plan at him, and while Curry still had a pretty good game, the Warriors just aren’t going to win many games when he scores 14 points.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Moses Moody
26 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 4-for-10 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 55.0% TS, -4
On a day where the Dubs gave the ball away 19 times, Moody was one of just three players (along with the two centers) to not turn the ball over. And for that we thank him.
He also had some big threes in this game, even if the overall shooting line was slightly below-average efficiency. The Warriors need more rebounds from him if they’re going to play him at power forward, but his energy and aggression were very welcome sights.
Grade: B
Trayce Jackson-Davis
24 minutes, 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls, 4-for-6 shooting, 3-for-6 free throws, 63.7% TS, -2
A really strong TJD game. He played pretty good defense, even against Domantas Sabonis, and had a very crafty offensive game. He’s really showing an improved ability to finish through contact, and he had some delightful passes as he’s starting to learn how to find his back-cutters. Super aggressive on the glass as well.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Lindy Waters III
14 minutes, 3 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 75.0% TS, -10
Waters is such a luxury to have at the back of the rotation, but games like this are a reminder that he is, indeed, towards the back of the rotation, and shouldn’t be relied on nightly when the team is healthy. Just a tough game for him to get much going.
Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Dennis Schröder
21 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-8 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 43.8% TS, -5
For one reason or another, I remain optimistic that Schröder will figure things out and be the quality veteran he’s been for the better part of a decade for the Warriors at some point. It’s really, really, really hard to adjust to a new team on the fly, let alone one with as unique of an offensive system as the Warriors have. But he’s really struggling right now, and Steve Kerr moving him out of the starting lineup seems a pretty clear admission of that.
Grade: D+
Quinten Post
15 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 50.0% TS, -10
How fun to see Post get some serious minutes! After the game, Kerr said he wants to get the rookie into the rotation more going forward, and you can see why. Post has size that we haven’t seen on the Warriors in a while, which showed up with Post’s rebounding and overall presence. And his threat as a pick-and-pop scorer could really unlock new things for the offense.
He got schooled a little bit against an All-Star in Sabonis (hence the five fouls), but for the most part he more than held his own.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Gui Santos
23 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 6-for-9 shooting, 4-for-5 threes, 88.9% TS, 0 +/-
I don’t know how the minutes are going to break down when Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Kyle Anderson return. But it seems pretty clear that Santos has to stay in the rotation right now. He’s playing strong defense and quickly learning how to avoid fouling and rookie mistakes. He’s shooting 12-for-18 from three-point range. He makes good passes and plays within the offense. And he seems to always be the hardest-working person on the court.
Did the Dubs find something???
Grade: A+
Wednesday’s DNP-CDs: Pat Spencer
Wednesday’s inactives: Kyle Anderson, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski
