Assessing every Golden State player’s performance from the team’s 103-86 win over Portland.
Unlike on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors handled business on Friday night in their final road game of the regular season, besting the Portland Trail Blazers 103-86. The Dubs don’t get much credit for beating a lottery-bound team that was without almost every player on their roster that you’ve heard of, but they handled business emphatically, and that’s worth a lot. The game wasn’t nearly as close as the score would indicate, as Portland did a fair amount of deficit trimming once the outcome had long been decided.
Now it’s time to grade the players. 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 Friday’s games, league-average TS was 57.6%.
Jimmy Butler III
28 minutes, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 6-for-10 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 11-for-11 free throws, 80.9% TS, +22
There wasn’t any drama in this game, and Butler is arguably the biggest reason for it. He started the fourth quarter, and had an attitude and approach that made it clear that his only goal was to make sure that Steph Curry didn’t have to get up off the bench again.
Mission accomplished. Butler was a one-man wrecking ball in the frame, in every phase of the game. He absolutely took over, and Portland had no match for his craftiness or his physicality.
Butler has now played 29 games with the Warriors. He’s attempted double-digit free throws in 10 of those games. He’s had neither a turnover nor an assist in six of them.
I can’t wait to see what he does in the playoffs.
Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and assists.
Moses Moody
23 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 3-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 43.1% TS, +9
It certainly wasn’t a bad game for Moody, but it wasn’t his best work, either. He didn’t have a great scoring game, and while his defense was strong, it’s hard to know how much value to place on it giving the lack of talent suiting up for Portland. I’d sure like to see him rebound more, too.
Grade: C+
Draymond Green
29 minutes, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 1-for-6 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, 25.0% TS, +13
Green’s hot shooting to start the year is officially a thing of the distant past. Yet as much as I love it when he has a scoring outburst, there’s nothing quite like when a vintage Dray game in which he barely scores but just controls the game on defense. Five stocks in just 29 minutes! Outrageous.
The Warriors will go as far as Green’s defense carries them.
Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Steph Curry
27 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 50.0% TS, +8
Only one thing matters about Curry’s performance in this game: he seems to be fine after suffering a thumb injury. Curry left the game in the first quarter, went to the locker room, and was still in the locker room when the second quarter began. The team listed him as questionable, but he returned halfway through the second, with a wrapped hand, and he seemed completely fine.
Hopefully it doesn’t swell up at all over night.
Grade: A+ simply for being OK, I didn’t even notice what he did on the court after that
Brandin Podziemski
30 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4-for-11 shooting, 2-for-6 threes, 45.5% TS, +31
Podz didn’t have a good shooting game. That’s the only bad thing I can say about his game. It just felt like the kind of game where he thrives. It was up-and-down and a little chaotic, and he flew all over the court, deflecting passes, tipping rebounds, and diving for loose balls. He seemed involved in every rebound, and in a game where there was some concern as to whether or not the Dubs would bring their effort, the second-year guard made sure they did. And he did it under control, leading the team in minutes without committing a turnover or getting whistled for a foul … save for one blocking foul that, after a challenge, was overturned to a charge. He’s pretty good at those.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds, best plus/minus on the team.
Jonathan Kuminga
17 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-7 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 6-for-8 free throws, 47.5% TS, +4
Kind of a funny game for JK, and I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. He really seemed to be focused on being aggressive and making the right plays, but in the first quarter he got overly eager, and had a handful of really sloppy moments that kept the Warriors from running away with things. He settled down as the game went on, and played some really good defense while being a big factor on the glass, and doing a great job bullying his way to the free throw line, Butler style.
But it’s really unclear what his role on the team is right now, and it doesn’t seem like that’s likely to change.
Grade: B-
Buddy Hield
23 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 2 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 4-for-10 threes, 57.1% TS, +13
Hield caught fire in the first, and gave the Warriors some serious offense when they desperately needed it. Then he went cold for most of the rest of the game. Still … timely offense, and quality defense and energy.
Grade: B+
Gary Payton II
14 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, 50.0% TS, +6
Great to see Payton back out on the court, though this game was uncharacteristically sloppy for him.
Grade: C
Kevon Looney
16 minutes, 1 point, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 fouls, 56.8% TS, +14
Looney really patrolled the paint in this game. He was a force defensively, and on the glass. He made life in the paint miserable for Portland’s players.
Grade: A-
Quinten Post
16 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-for-7 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 63.5% TS, +7
Great to see Post back after two straight absences due to illness. I was really impressed by how well he played. The Dubs would like to see more rebounds to be sure, but his defense was very strong, and he was ultra-aggressive on offense.
Grade: B+
Gui Santos
5 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, -2
Santos barely got any run … it could be that his role is greatly diminished going into the playoffs. We’ll see how much he plays on Sunday. Not a very good game for him, though.
Grade: D+
Braxton Key
3 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 2-for-4 free throws, 56.8% TS, -10
A little garbage time for Key. Love getting to see him play.
Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Kevin Knox II
3 minutes, 2 points, 2 turnovers, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, -10
Knox was sloppy, but still nice to see him get some garbage time run.
Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Trayce Jackson-Davis
3 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -10
TJD is back to being out of the rotation with Post healthy again.
Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Pat Spencer
3 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, -10
The only garbage time player to not have a turnover! Way to go, Pat.
Grade: Incomplete
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
Friday’s inactives: Taran Armstrong, Jackson Rowe