Well, that was as ugly as all get out. Not that any of us were itching for a reminder, but the Golden State Warriors emphatically made sure we are all keenly aware of Steph Curry’s importance, losing 112-86 to the Miami Heat in his absence. The Warriors had a tremendously poor shooting game, while the Heat had a historically great one. Not a good recipe for success.
It’s time to begrudgingly grade the players who struggled up one side and down the other. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for each player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Tuesday’s games, league-average TS was 57.6%.
Gary Payton II
20 minutes, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-2 shooting, 100.0% TS, -21
Payton got inserted into the starting lineup, and while he didn’t have a bad game per se, his presence in the opening five certainly didn’t fix any problems. GPII didn’t provide help to an anemic offense, and wasn’t a difference-maker on defense as the team struggled on that end of the court.
He was active, though, but there just wasn’t a bunch there.
Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.
Jimmy Butler III
29 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5-for-12 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 44.2% TS, -19
Well … I was hoping for more. Prior to his return to Miami after an illustrious career and an ugly divorce, Butler stated that Tuesday’s contest was just “another game.” I hoped that meant he was channeling his emotion in a good way but instead, he just seemed fairly uninterested in this one.
Butler’s short Warriors tenure has been defined by dragging the team to victory and a gorgeously cocky belief that the team will always win, but it never felt like he thought the Warriors were in this one. The putting the team on his back thing that we’ve grown accustomed to never showed up.
Grade: D+
Draymond Green
23 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 25.0% TS, -23
Just a bad Draymond game through and through. Limited energy, limited impact. Neither had it nor brought it.
Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Moses Moody
25 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 foul, 3-for-13 shooting, 0-for-9 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 26.0% TS, -23
Moody deserves credit for playing with a decent amount of energy, which is more than a lot of his teammates can say. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing we can give him credit for in this game, other than some quality defense in the first few minutes.
Grade: D
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Brandin Podziemski
30 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 6-for-16 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 42.6% TS, -4
The good news is Podziemski was the only Warriors starter who could score. The bad news is he didn’t do it very efficiently. He was certainly a lot better than most of the team’s starters, but still not a strong game.
Grade: C+
Buddy Hield
26 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-8 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 56.3% TS, -5
Hield was the first Warrior to score a three, which is not something you ever want a bench player to do. He had a decent, if not super-impactful scoring game, and did very little else.
Grade: C+
Jonathan Kuminga
25 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4-for-10 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 6-for-9 free throws, 53.7% TS, -13
Kuminga was, for most of the game, the only Warrior who actually attacked the rim. He attempted nine free throws, while the rest of his teammates shot just seven, combined. Yet even with that, it wasn’t an efficient scoring game for him. But it added some downward action that the team desperately needed.
Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in scoring.
Quinten Post
14 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 30.0% TS, -15
Well, not a lot to say here. Post had a bad game. It happens.
Grade: D
Gui Santos
20 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 5-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 81.3% TS, -2
Hey, there’s a player who had a good game! Haven’t seen many around these parts today. Santos shot 3-for-6 from distance, while the rest of the Warriors shot 6-for-32. He had energy and some defense and, more than anything else, actually made shots.
Grade: A+ just because everyone else was so tragically useless
Kevon Looney
14 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-2 free throws, 79.8% TS, 0 +/-
Looney definitely provided the team with some of the best minutes. He and Santos were really the only players who looked decent out there. Some good defense and work on the glass.
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.
Pat Spencer
6 minutes, 0 points, 0-for-2 shooting, 0.0% TS, -3
Just a little garbage time for Spencer, who didn’t do all that much with it.
Grade: Incomplete
Kevin Knox II
4 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, -1
Good to see Knox get a little action, also in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Trayce Jackson-Davis
4 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 2-for-2 shooting, 100.0% TS, -1
Garbage time for TJD, who had a few good offensive plays. Nice to see.
Grade: Incomplete
Tuesday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Steph Curry, Braxton Key, Jackson Rowe
