Player grades: Warriors vs. Pacers

Dec 6, 2022 - 6:57 AM

The Golden State Warriors win streak came to a screeching halt on Monday night, as they suffered one of their worst defeats of the year, losing a home game to a mediocre Indiana Pacers team that was without its two best players, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner.

It was a bad time to have a bad game. The Dubs entered the contest with the best home record in the league, but they’ve been truly awful on the road. This was the final game of their three-game homestand, and now seven of their next eight games are on opposing courts. In other words, it doesn’t get easier. Not even a little.

So let’s break out the red pen, even though I’d rather just forget this game ever existed. As always, grades are weighted for my expectations of each player, with a “B” representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is scoring efficiency that weights for three-point shooting and free throws. The league average entering Monday’s games was 57.4%.

Draymond Green

34 minutes, 2 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-8 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 12.5% TS, +6

Dray has been having a scoring revival, but you wouldn’t know it from this game. He struggled mightily to score, clanking jumpers and layups alike. But overall he had a fairly decent game, and was part of the bench unit that tried to undo the damage that the starters had created (though he was part of that unit, too...). He was one of the only Warriors to play defense in this game, and seeing the low turnover and foul rates was great. But he also seemed at times like he didn’t care all that much.

Grade: B-

Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.

Kevon Looney

14 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 foul, 2-for-2 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 104.2% TS, -21

Looney’s stats were fine enough, though his plus/minus got obliterated by being part of the starting unit that really struggled. At the same time, he didn’t play a lot, and there was a reason for that. The Warriors identified small ball as their opportunity to win, and Looney never really fit into the gameplan. He really struggled to guard a big as mobile as Jalen Smith.

Grade: C+

Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.

Steph Curry

38 minutes, 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-17 shooting, 2-for-10 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 32.0% TS, -17

Well, it’s safe to say that was one of the worst games that Curry will play this year. Hopefully the worst. I’m not gonna dwell on it or give many words to it. You saw it. Or, if you’re lucky, you did something else with your Monday and didn’t see it.

He missed shots, and then missed more shots, and as he missed shots he seemed to grow more passive with his shot selection, and then he missed more shots.

Grade: D

Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.

Klay Thompson

37 minutes, 28 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 foul, 9-for-23 shooting, 8-for-16 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 58.6% TS, +1

Klay provided the most excitement in this game, as his second-quarter flurry of shots got Chase Center rocking, and was tons of fun to watch. He also had some key shots in the fourth quarter.

All in all, pretty solid game. Always impressive to lead your team in scoring without turning the ball over.

Grade: B+

Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Jordan Poole

32 minutes, 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 10-for-21 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 53.6% TS, -6

Poole also provided some bursts of energy that got the arena rocking, and had some masterful finishes at the rim. He’s getting better and better at finishing and drawing fouls, but sometimes — as happened a bit in this game — he still falls too much into the habit of chucking jumpers instead of breaking down the defense.

He did a good job of stepping up to fill the offensive void left by Curry’s bad game, but his reliance on a jumper that wasn’t falling made it a somewhat inefficient night, and his defense was really bad.

Grade: B-

Jonathan Kuminga

23 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 6 fouls, 4-for-4 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 102.5% TS, 0 plus/minus

Kuminga was probably the brightest spot of the game for me, as he continues to look like a strong bench contributor ... which is a serious change of pace after his brutal start to the year.

He was the last player to enter the game for the Warriors, but instantly brought a surge of energy on both ends of the court. His rebound total isn’t great, but he affected many more rebounds that he didn’t get credit for. His offense was fantastic, as he picked and chose his spots, cut without the ball, and finished with authority.

Fouling out in just 23 minutes is a bummer, but it’s the only stain on a really nice game from JK.

Grade: A-

JaMychal Green

8 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2-for-2 shooting, 3-for-5 free throws, 83.3% TS, -7

It’s fun seeing Green start to develop some rapport with his teammates. It’s earning him a lot of good looks at the rim. He has great timing with cutting and diving to the rim, and some emphatic finishes. Not very good defense in this one though.

Grade: B-

Anthony Lamb

24 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-9 shooting, 0-for-4 threes, 0-for-1 free throws, 31.8% TS, +14

Kind of an odd game for Lamb, who was all over the place. He moved the ball well and played within the system, but couldn’t make shots. He had a few highlight plays on defense, but also hurt the team quite a bit with his overeagerness.

He’s a quality role player, but also a flawed one.

Grade: B-

Post-game bonus: Led the team in plus/minus

Donte DiVincenzo

22 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 63.5% TS, -2

DiVincenzo is starting to learn how to play with his teammates, and how to play in the system, and it’s a joy to watch. His energy was palpable in this one, as he was all over the place on both ends of the court, and it was one of the few efficient games he’s had since joining the Warriors.

I thought he was one of the few players who played defense in this one, too.

Grade: A-

Moses Moody

8 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -8

Moody got off the bench early, but didn’t spend much time off it. His confidence seems to have been rattled by being in Steve Kerr’s doghouse, and I think you can blame either of them for that, depending on how you view it.

Grade: C-

Monday’s DNPs: Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins

Monday’s inactives: Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman