Steph Curry and Draymond Green ranked in Warriors vs Grizzlies

Well, that was pretty pathetic. The Golden State Warriors put their worst foot forward against the team that likes to beat them the most, losing 131-110 to the Memphis Grizzlies in a performance that can only be described as appalling.

I don’t want to write about it. You don’t want to read about it.

But let’s hold hands and power through this together.

As always, ratings are measured based on my expectations for each player, with the “B” rating representing that player’s average performance.

Note: True Shot Percentage (TS) is a measure of scoring efficiency that accounts for threes and free throws. Going into Thursday’s games, the league average TS was 58.1%.

Draymond Green

30 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 5 turnovers, 1 foul, shooting 5 for 9, 0 for 1 three, 6 for 6 free throws, 68.7% TS, -1

Green actually had a sneaky good game. Still…it probably creates unfair expectations, but after his public spat with Dillon Brooks this week, I kind of expected Dray to lead a rejuvenated defensive charge.

Instead, despite the scoreboard material, and despite a team not having its starting point guard, starting center, and key bench player, the Warriors defense was truly horrible, even compared to their expectations … which are low, because they’ve been the third-worst defensive team in the league on the road this season.

The quintet of turnovers, Green, had also highlighted how the Warriors had become out of control, sloppy and unfocused.

So I do not know. Part of me wants to give it a decent rating. But I can not.

Grade: C+

Post-match bonus: Led the team in assists.

Steph Curry

34 minutes, 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 10 for 19 shots, 4 for 8 threes, 5 for 6 free throws, 67.0% TS, +2

The fact that Curry has played as well as he has in those last two games just makes it even more horrific that the Dubs have been mostly uncompetitive. They have too much experience and too much talent – even with Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Gary Payton II sidelined – to perform as a one-man show. But that’s kind of what they were.

Another turnover-heavy game indicates the team’s disconnect right now, and Steph has worked a few times defensively.

But he’s still playing like one of the best players in the league, and the Warriors seem determined to do nothing with him.

Rating: A-

Post-match bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in rebounds.

Klay Thompson

28 mins, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 6 for 14 shots, 2 for 7 3, 50.0% TS, -19

Klay didn’t play badly per se, but his play kind of highlighted some of the team’s issues. In the first quarter of that game, the ball was kicked towards the scorer’s table and looked like it was about to go out of bounds. It would have been the Warriors ball if that was the case. Thompson was the closest player and could have easily caught him. He took a few half-hearted steps then decided to let him go out of bounds and get the ball in…except one Memphis player who hadn’t given up play caught him while he was still in play, and ended up with a quick one-on-zero break.

That lined up with Tuesday, when Thompson had at least two turnovers that made you think, “why did you throw him out there when there’s no player to catch him?”

None of these mistakes are inexcusable in a vacuum, but the whole team is making them right now, so everyone feels like a straw breaking the camel’s back, and everyone feels like they’re accurately explaining what which is wrong with the whole team.

Also, not a very good defense in this game.

Rating: D+

Donte Di Vincenzo

21 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, shooting 1 for 5, 0 for 4 threes, 20.0% TS, -25

One of DiVincenzo’s worst games in a long time. Perhaps his worst since the start of the season. He provided nothing on offense as a scorer or playmaker, had an abysmal turnover to blow up a three-on-two, and got worked up defensively by Memphis’ physicality.

He’s now 8 for 34 from the field in his last five games and 5 for 25 in three. He will bounce back. But with key players sidelined, the Warriors really need that rebound to happen soon.

Rating: D-

Jordan Poole

34 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 5 of 10 shots, 2 of 5 threes, 10 of 10 free throws, 76.4% TS, -33

The Warriors put Poole in the starting lineup so they would opt for a four-guard formation, and after the game Steve Kerr admitted they “got too cute”.

But lost in all of this was that Poole had his best game in a long time and was one of the best players on the pitch for the Dubs.

Don’t get me wrong, there were still problems. Turnovers are still on the verge of losing control and his defense – much improved throughout the year – has really faded.

But he did what we – and I suspect, Kerr, and probably his teammates too – asked him to do. He stopped being content with heat checks and brave threes. He attacked the rim. He got layups and lived on the free throw line. When he took threes, they were open shots.

Poole’s puzzle decisions became loss staples, but they were nowhere to be found in this one.

Grade: B+

Post-match bonus: The worst plus/minus of the team.

Andre Iguodala

18 mins, 0 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 0 for 3 shots, 0 for 3 threes, 0.0% TS, +4

I’m not going to say that Iguodala was great in this game, because that would be… well, that would be an outright lie, wouldn’t it? But it was a game where you can easily see why Kerr trusts him so much and what role he can play on the team.

Iguodala was a calming presence. He helped reset things when they weren’t going Golden State’s way. It was a bit like when the respected elderly person in your family shows up at dinner and suddenly everyone starts behaving better. The team was more disciplined and focused when Iguodala was on the pitch.

Category B

Post-match bonus: Led the team more/less.

Green Ja Mychal

18 minutes, 9 points, 1 foul, shot 3 for 8, 3 for 7 three, 56.3% TS, -17

It wasn’t JMG’s best game, but it provided the team with much needed energy. And his trio of triples in the third quarter was a massive part of the Warriors making another run, even if that run fell through.

He had good defensive possessions, although the Warriors need more than a donut in the rebounds column if he wants to play serious minutes.

Still, a nice boost of energy.

Grade: C+

Kevon Looney

19 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 fouls, 1 for 2 shooting, 50.0% TS, -4

Looney looked much better than he did on Tuesday, although it’s also clear that his back pain – which put him on the injury report for the past two games – is hampering him a bit. He just doesn’t look 100%.

But he still did a lot of good things and the Warriors were generally better with him on the court.

Category B-

Post-match bonus: Tied for team leader in rebounds.

Patrick Baldwin Jr.

14 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 2 for 8 shots, 1 for 6 3, 31.3% TS, -2

Baldwin is mired in a little shooting slump that makes his quick trigger a bit suspicious. But when you look at his mechanics, you understand why the Warriors encourage him to fire every time he’s open…and why he’s obliging.

He showed a few more aspects of his game in this one, and I thought he had some really nice defensive possessions…he even blocked a pair of shots!

The future looks bright for kid, even if it is as raw as tartare.

Category B-

You Jerome

23 mins, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-for-4 shooting, 3-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 112.7% TS, 10

Pretty awesome offensive game for Jérôme. Pretty awful defensive game for Jérôme. He has just four qualifying games left on his two-way contract.