Player grades: Warriors vs. Grizzlies

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. Given that the Dubs were resting Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Otto Porter Jr., and still without Steph Curry, you could live with that. You probably even predicted it.

But they did not just lose. They got their asses kicked 123-95, and that’s a much more difficult pill to swallow, in addition to being a total waste of two and a half hours of your time. You can’t get those hours back, and for that I apologize.

You probably shouldn’t waste any more time reading about the game, but I have a job to do. So let’s break out the red pen and see how the players did, weighting for our expectations of each.

Note: League-average true-shooting percentage (TS) was 56.4% entering Monday’s games.

Jonathan Kuminga

35 minutes, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 4-for-11 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 7-for-10 free throws, 48.7% TS, -15

Kuminga’s efficiency has really fallen off in the last few games — he, like everyone else, is clearly ready for Curry to return to the court. That said, he was far from the biggest problem in this game for the Warriors.

We saw some growth with regards to playmaking and defense in this contest, but most impressive was Kuminga playing a full 35 minutes without fouling. Also, props to him for attacking the rim ... he and Jordan Poole combined for 18 of the team’s 26 free throws.

Had a few more of his shots fallen, it would’ve been a really nice game for the rookie.

Grade: B

Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds and assists.

Andrew Wiggins

29 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-15 shooting, 0-for-5 threes, 33.3% TS, -19

Watching Wiggins struggle this much is a little difficult. He hasn’t scored 25 points since January 1, and since February 1 has hit the 20-point mark just three times, all while registering nearly as many turnovers as assists.

It was an off night shooting for him, but he also reverted to some old habits, as he’s been doing a bit lately. He seemed more comfortable taking long jumpers than fighting for easier shots, as evidenced by the lack of free throws.

With his poor offense clearly frustrating him, Wiggins’ defense took a pretty big hit.

Grade: D

Kevon Looney

21 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, 50.0% TS, -13

The Warriors defensive issues were much more on the perimeter than the interior, but Looney didn’t have his best game on that end of the court, and got very much out-played and out-rebounded by Steven Adams.

Grade: C

Gary Payton II

14 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 3 fouls, 1-for-1 shooting, 100.0% TS, -14

Not really a notable game for GPII, though the Warriors will really need him if these teams match up in the playoffs, when Ja Morant will hopefully be healthy.

Grade: B-

Jordan Poole

28 minutes, 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 7-for-17 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 8-for-8 free throws, 58.1% TS, -21

With Wiggins struggling so mightily, Poole is really the entire offense when the Warriors rest their stars. And he keeps cooking things up and impressing. Despite Memphis knowing that JP would be the primary offensive option, Poole managed to score efficiently on his way to a 14th-straight game with 20 or more points. And while he didn’t dish out as many assists as he has in the last few games, he managed to only turn the ball over once.

Not many things went right for the Dubs on Monday, but as has so often been the case lately, Poole was one of the things that did.

Grade: A

Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Nemanja Bjelica

18 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 41.7% TS, -22

It’s rare to see a game where Bjelica plays and doesn’t have an assist, though part of the reason is that the Dubs only made 40.7% of their shots. Bjeli’s defense was pretty awful in this one, though.

Grade: C

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

Andre Iguodala

16 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 77.3% TS, +2

One of the few silver linings in this game was Iguodala’s return to action. It was just his 27th game this season, and while it’s not the same to see him playing while Curry, Green, and Thompson are sidelined, he still did a lot of the things that make you think he’ll be on the court in crunch time in the playoffs ... if he can stay healthy.

Grade: A-

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

Juan Toscano-Anderson

13 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 33.3% TS, +1

I’m always amused when a player is able to put up a number in every column on the box score, especially in limited minutes.

Grade: B

Damion Lee

19 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 51.6% TS, -11

Nothing of note from Lee in this game. Certainly wasn’t the reason the Warriors lost, but didn’t do anything to keep it from happening, either.

Grade: C+

Moses Moody

27 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 7-for-14 shooting, 3-for-7 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 60.5% TS, -21

We reach our third and final bright spot in this game: Poole’s excellence, Iguodala’s return, and Moody’s strong play. The rookie got big minutes and capitalized, making open shots, keeping the ball moving, and playing pretty darn good defense.

He’s still a ways away from being a regular part of the rotation, but this game was a reminder that he might be a staple of the rotation before too terribly long.

Grade: A

Chris Chiozza

20 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 2-for-6 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 43.6% TS, -7

Not very good minutes for Chiozza. I don’t really have anything else to add.

Grade: C-

Monday’s inactives: Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Otto Porter Jr., Klay Thompson, Quinndary Weatherspoon, James Wiseman