Wow. Well that was a fun, if tense game. The Golden State Warriors nearly blew a 20-point lead … but they didn’t. Instead, they hung on for a thrilling 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and grabbed the seventh seed in the Western Conference. And as a reward, they get four off days before starting their first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
So let’s grade the players who took the Dubs to the playoffs on Tuesday. As always, grades are based on my expectations of each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance of that player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. League-average TS was 57.6% this season.
Moses Moody
33 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-for-7 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 64.3% TS, +6
Moody found himself on the receiving end of some very angry words from Steve Kerr during Sunday’s loss for not going hard enough for a loose ball. And all I can say is that he played on Tuesday like someone who had been chewed out for not going hard enough for a loose ball.
At times it felt like Moody was prime Ed Reed the way he’d just fly into the scene when you didn’t even know he was around, and snatch the ball. His stolen rebound from Zach Edey in the final minute might have been the play of the game had the refs not decided that Kevon Looney merely existing warranted a foul call.
Moody also played awesome defense on Ja Morant. Good stuff. Oh, and he did this:
Grade: A-
Jimmy Butler III
40 minutes, 38 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 12-for-20 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 12-for-18 free throws, 68.1% TS, 0 plus/minus
If anyone’s looking for a way to spend the four off days, might I suggest going back and reading the comments in the article I wrote in the aftermath of the Butler trade. That’s not meant to pick on anyone — we all have our takes that age poorly, myself more than most people. But it’s certainly funny to go back and look at some of the fear-mongering now that we’ve seen Playoff Jimmy in action.
What an absolute star. Butler absolutely took over the game in every aspect. Memphis had no answer for him. He got to his spots at will. He lived at the free throw line. He was an All-Pro quarterback and an All-Pro linebacker.
Maybe you could pick nits with the free throws and the fouls had the Warriors not won, but that’s thankfully a hypothetical we don’t need to visit. They did win, and they did so in large part because 18 other players took the court on Tuesday and none of them played as well as Butler did.
And then he used both his on-court interview and post-game media session to talk about how great Steph Curry is.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.
Draymond Green
31 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 34.0% TS, +12
The talk is mostly about Steph, but honestly I think Dray needs the four days of rest every bit as much as Curry does. I’m not the least bit worried about him, but he does look like he’s been running into a lit bit of a wall lately, and hopefully a few days getting eight-plus hours of sleep without games or travel can do him some favors.
He was one of the team’s best offensive players though, despite only scoring four points, because he kept the ball moving, made brilliant passes, set massive screens, and directed the offense. He unfortunately took himself out of the equation a bit by being in constant foul trouble, and fouling out in the final minute. But his defense and playmaking were sensational, even if he’s slowing down a little bit.
Rest up, Dray.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
28 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 1-for-7 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 21.4% TS, -1
Thankfully Butler and Curry scored enough that the Warriors didn’t need offensive contributions from Podziemski, who had a really rough go of it. He still does a great job of not letting poor scoring nights bleed into other areas of his game, though, as he played smart and disciplined basketball. Quality defense, but just didn’t have much to give in this one.
Grade: C
Steph Curry
39 minutes, 37 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 9-for-22 shooting, 6-for-13 threes, 13-for-13 free throws, 66.7% TS, +1
Brilliance from Curry, but … yeah, dude needs those four days off. He’s been running around nonstop, and it’s clear that his thumb is bothering him a bit. He still turned in a superstar performance and, most impressively, only had one turnover after having eight on Sunday.
If you want confidence going into their first-round series, it comes in knowing that Curry will be the best player on the court, and that’s something of a cheat code in the playoffs.
Given the importance of his shots, and the injury he’s playing through, there’s only one grade for the chef…
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Quinten Post
22 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 4-for-5 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 110.0% TS, +12
This was a good Post game. A very good Post game. When his shot is falling it completely changes the game for the Warriors, and he used his size very well on defense and the glass, though there was a little sloppiness with the turnovers and fouls. I’m really curious to see how he looks in the Houston series.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Gary Payton II
20 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 5-for-10 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 60.0% TS, +1
Some very good Payton minutes. His defense on Morant and Desmond Bane was awesome and, while he’s still an offensive liability in certain spaces, he was much better on offense tonight, and made a few huge buckets. He’s going to play a big role against the Rockets and their many perimeter scorers.
Grade: B+
Buddy Hield
12 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 25.0% TS, +7
Hield did do anything bad, per se, in this game. He just didn’t really do anything good, either.
Grade: C
Kevon Looney
10 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, 50.0% TS, -11
This just wasn’t a good matchup for Looney. He was a little too small to slow Edey down much, but didn’t provide any small-ball benefits to run Edey off the court, either.
Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
Gui Santos
6 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 43.6% TS, -2
After a one-game hiatus, Santos returned to the rotation (the same could not be said for Jonathan Kuminga), though in a very reduced role. He provided a few high-energy moments, and had an and-one that nearly brought the roof down at Chase Center. I’m interested to see if he’s in the rotation come Sunday.
Grade: B
Refs
I normally don’t like to pick on the refs, but, given the point of the game, that ghost call on Looney was tied with the loose ball foul on Kuminga in December’s loss to the Rockets for the worst call I can remember in recent years. Thankfully, unlike the one on Kuminga, it didn’t prove costly. There were a few other awful calls in the final minutes, going against both teams. Just a rough day for the zebras.
Grade: Y for Yikes!
Tuesday’s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Braxton Key, Kevin Knox II, Jonathan Kuminga, Pat Spencer
Tuesday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Jackson Rowe
