Steph Curry, Jordan Poole graded in Warriors vs. Spurs
In front of a record crowd at the Alamodome on Friday night, the Golden State Warriors had their best road game of the season, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 144-113.
It was a lot of fun and most of the players deserve praise for their performance. So let’s do just that, by rating the shows. As always, we are grading based on expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing an average performance from that player.
Note: True shooting percentage (TS) is a measure of scoring efficiency that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Friday’s games, the league average was 57.7%.
Draymond Green
29 minutes, 6 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 60.0% TS, +20
A clinic from Draymond. It seemed like every shot the Spurs got was countered by Dray and recovered by Dray, resulting in a Dray led rush.
In my eyes, Green is the most important player on the team for this five-game road trip. The Warriors are third in the league in defense at home and 29th on the road. If they are to turn their troubles around on the road – this was just their fourth win in 20 road games – it starts with defence. And as long as Dray is a fighter, their defense starts with him.
Grade: A
Post-Game Bonus: Tied for team lead in plus/minus.
Kevon Looney
21 minutes, 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-for-7 shooting, 2-for-3 free throws, 84.1% TS, +6
Looney’s minutes have dropped since Andre Iguodala returned, even with JaMychal Green and James Wiseman sidelined. It seems Steve Kerr feels more comfortable going small ball when Iguodala is around.
But Looney remains fantastic in the minutes he has given. When the Warriors went small, they thrived. And when they got going, Looney was there to score efficiently, gobble up rebounds and play strong defense (Jakob Pöltl shot just 2-for-9). The fact that he had the team’s worst plus/minus isn’t an indictment of him, just an indication of which lineups worked best against San Antonio.
Grade: A
Postgame bonus: worst plus/minus on the team.
Andrew Wiggins
27 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 7-for-17 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 47.1% TS, +18
Wiggins struggled a bit with efficiency, but I still thought this was his best game since returning to the lineup. The scoring may have been a little off the pace, but he was aggressive in every aspect of the game and played great defense.
Grade: B+
Steph Curry
23 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 6-for-12 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 60.3% TS, +12
It’s kind of ridiculous that Curry can score 15 points in just 23 minutes, at significantly better than league average efficiency, and the first thought we all have is “well he’s still shaking off the rust.”
But that’s how good he is. The trio of assists doesn’t accurately describe how well he defends the offense, though the donut in the rotation column does.
Watch out, people. He’s just warming up again.
Class: B
Klay Thompson
23 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 7-for-10 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 80.0% TS, +19
Klay had arguably the most important performance in this game. Outside of the first two minutes, the only time the Warriors didn’t feel in control of the game was early in the second half. The Dubs had a couple of turnovers in the opening minute (one was picked off by Thompson), and the Spurs made a couple of shots. It looked like San Antonio was about to get into the game.
And then Klay turned it on and quickly ended any hopes and dreams San Antonio had.
One of his best performances of the year. He is really finding his rhythm.
Grade: A+
Andre Iguodala
18 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 83.3% TS, +16
Iguodala’s third game of the season was arguably his best. He showed he still has some athleticism and showed he can still play defense. More importantly, he showed that a small-ball lineup with him can still thrive. And, as was the case in his first two games, he’s showing those who thought he was just a glorified assistant coach that he’s going to play real minutes.
Grade: A-
Anthony Lamb
24 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 5-for-7 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 92.9% TS, +18
I was honestly surprised to see that Lamb “only” made three shots from downtown, because I felt like he had at least five. He was a huge difference maker in the first half as the Warriors turned a small lead into a touchdown.
The fouls are not ideal and a sign that he is sometimes out of position, but everything else in his game was absolutely fantastic.
Grade: A
Donte DiVincenzo
25 minutes, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 goal, 2 fouls, 7-for-17 shooting, 4-for-12 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 58.4% TS, +20
Anyone still doubting DiVincenzo’s offseason addition? No?
I didn’t think so.
It was fitting that DDV appeared at the Alamodome, the same venue where he put on a tremendous performance while leading Villanova to an NCAA Championship. He did everything in this game. Seriously, everything.
Grade: A
Postgame bonus: Tied for best plus/minus on team.
Jordan Poole
31 minutes, 25 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 8-for-16 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 7-for-8 free throws, 64.0% TS, +19
The team DiVincenzo faced in that national championship game at the Alamodome? Poole’s Michigan team. So it was fitting that they were the two leading scorers in this game. Some things just make sense.
This contest was everything you think of when you imagine a beautiful Poole performance. It was equal parts flashy and substantial. He’s just so much fun.
JP was so efficient as he put on a show with a great inside-outside game. When the defense cut off his threes, he drove. When they cut the lane, he pulled over. When the shot was taken away from him, he found the man open.
Excellent.
Grade: A+
Postgame bonus: Led the team in points and assists.
Moses Moody
18 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4-for-7 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-4 free throws, 68.5% TS, +7
I thought this was one of the best games of Moody’s career, period.
I often point out that Moody doesn’t do that much, for better or for worse. He doesn’t make many mistakes, but he also doesn’t make many plays. In this game he changed the latter … keeping the former. He was aggressive on offense, not just going for threes, but penetrating, drawing contact, finishing and finding open teammates. And he did it all without committing a single turnover or foul.
More of this, please!
Grade: A
Friday inactives: Patrick Baldwin Jr., JaMychal Green, Ty Jerome, Jonathan Kuminga, Ryan Rollins, James Wiseman
