{"id":407296,"date":"2025-11-13T06:31:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T06:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/407296\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T06:31:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T06:31:11","slug":"warriors-vs-spurs-grades-steph-curry-jimmy-butler-iii-star-in-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/407296\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors vs Spurs grades: Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III star in win"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors had perhaps their most impressive \u2014 and certainly their most needed \u2014 win of the year. Despite playing the second-game of a road back-to-back against one of the youngest and most athletic teams in the NBA, despite all of their road woes this year, and despite falling behind by 16 points early, the Warriors rode a 43-point third quarter to a statement 125-120 win<\/a> over the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to grade the players that got it done, and these games are always a lot more fun to grade. As usual, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a \u201cB\u201d grade representing the average performance for that player.<\/p>\n

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Wednesday\u2019s games, league-average TS was 58.3%. <\/p>\n

22 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 50.0% TS, +1<\/p>\n

Richard was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday, which was surprising but also quite understandable. His cutting ability and spacing should certainly help a Warriors offense that has grown stagnant, though it didn\u2019t on this night. And his perimeter defense certainly should help what has been a porous defense \u2026 and on this night it certainly did.<\/p>\n

It really is remarkable how much older he plays than he is. How many rookies can play 22 minutes this early in their career, and be comfortable and content taking just two shots? He\u2019s smart, composed, and selfless \u2026 and given the quotes made by Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler III after Tuesday\u2019s loss, you can be sure those are the exact traits that the team is chasing.<\/p>\n

That said, it wasn\u2019t a great game for Richard. San Antonio\u2019s length and athleticism bothered him a bit, as he struggled to rebound and had a handful of turnovers. But his defense offset the things he didn\u2019t do well.<\/p>\n

34 minutes, 28 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 7-for-12 shooting, 5-for-7 threes, 9-for-12 free throws, 81.0% TS, +6<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say \u201cthis is why the Warriors traded for Butler,\u201d but I think that would be understating it. This wasn\u2019t the case of a player helping keep the second unit afloat while Steph Curry rested; it was a true 1B to Curry\u2019s 1A. 28 points on 18 shooting possessions? Eight assists with no turnovers? Six rebounds with no fouls?<\/p>\n

Curry will get the headlines in this game, but the biggest moment of the game came when he was on the bench late in the third quarter. He had almost single-handedly erased the Warriors deficit, and the hope was that the Dubs could stay within striking distance for a few minutes while their star got some rest. Instead, Butler dominated on both ends of the court and quickly gave the Warriors a double-digit lead, which settled into an eight-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take it for granted. It was a superstar performance.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists, tied for the team lead in rebounds.<\/p>\n

27 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 6 fouls, 1-for-10 shooting, 0-for-7 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 25.5% TS, +15<\/p>\n

This is one of the hardest performances I can ever remember grading. Green shot 10% from the floor; he needed 12 shooting possessions to score six points; the Spurs repeatedly asked him to try to beat them and he repeatedly obliged; he turned the ball over four times; he fouled out in less than 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

That all spells \u201cbad grade,\u201d and yet I find myself wanting to \u2026 umm \u2026 well \u2026 give him an A+.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t pretend to have watched every game that Victor Wembanyama has played, but I\u2019ve sure watched a lot of them. And I genuinely cannot remember watching someone play defense against him as well as Green just did.<\/p>\n

That might sound crazy when you look at Wembanyama\u2019s stats: he finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. But the value of a player as dominant as Wembanyama is less in the points they score, and more in the way the offense runs through them and brilliantly as a result. Wemby never looked comfortable against Green. He was often looking to get rid of the ball, and his shots were off-balance and moving away from the hoop. Most of his misses came with Green guarding him (while many of his makes came when Green was on the bench), and most of his eight turnovers came with Dray on the court as well.<\/p>\n

In the end I\u2019m settling here: I can\u2019t give Green a perfect grade when there were so many things laid out on the stat sheet that he could have done better. But I still think he was the most important player for the Warriors, and his grade has to reflect that.<\/p>\n

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus\/minus on the team.<\/p>\n

26 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 6-for-13 shooting, 5-for-10 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 68.4% TS, +4<\/p>\n

Moody got inserted in the starting lineup and, if I had to guess, he won\u2019t be coming out of it anytime soon. This was just a fantastic performance from him. He completely shut down De\u2019Aaron Fox \u2014 do you even remember Fox playing in this game? \u2014 and his 11-point second quarter gave the Warriors their first sign of offensive life all game, and helped them get to work erasing a 16-point deficit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been an up-and-down start to the year for Moody, but he so perfectly fits with what the Warriors need and want from him, and this was really just a perfect game for the fifth-year wing.<\/p>\n

34 minutes, 46 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 13-for-25 shooting, 5-for-16 threes, 15-for-16 free throws, 71.8% TS, +5<\/p>\n

This was one of those performances where the stats don\u2019t do justice to the performance. And yes, I recognize that\u2019s a wild thing to say after someone has 46-5-5 on excellent efficiency.<\/p>\n

Curry, like the few other seminal talents in the league, has the ability to just take over a game and completely change the trajectory. He flirted with doing that in the second quarter when, after Moody\u2019s offensive burst, Curry dropped in 10 points. And then he did it in earnest in the third quarter, scoring 22 points \u2026 despite resting for the final three minutes of the frame.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t just the numbers, it was how they were accomplished. Against one of the league\u2019s best defenses, and against someone setting record books ablaze for his shot-blocking ability, Curry refused to follow the playbook of just settling for jumpers, and worked his way to the line repeatedly. He never backed down from Wembanyama, scoring in front of him, around him, and through him. He dragged the Warriors offense to success and refused to let them play passively. And when he wasn\u2019t scoring 46 points, he was setting up the offense while turning the ball over just one time.<\/p>\n

He just keeps impressing.<\/p>\n

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.<\/p>\n

23 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 64.3% TS, -14<\/p>\n

Horford, after resting on Tuesday, got a lot of run in this one. It was clear that the Warriors were only comfortable with Green or Horford guarding Wembanyama, and occasionally both. The result was one of, if not the best game that Horford has had during his brief Warriors tenure. He started to find his three-point stroke at the absolute perfect time, and played quality defense. This is exactly the player they were hoping to get when they signed him in free agency.<\/p>\n

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus\/minus on the team.<\/p>\n

12 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -10<\/p>\n

Kuminga was removed from the starting lineup for this game, and I\u2019m very curious to see how he responds. Unfortunately, we\u2019ll have to wait to see an answer to that. Kuminga was questionable entering the game with knee soreness, and didn\u2019t look quite right when he was on the court. He went to the locker room in the second quarter, and was ruled out during the halftime break.<\/p>\n

He might miss some time, but whenever he\u2019s back on the court, it will be a pretty critical juncture in his career:<\/p>\n

16 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 41.0% TS, -3<\/p>\n

Hield still hasn\u2019t really found his shooting stroke this year, but his game has been impressively well-rounded. I thought his defense really stood out in this game, and he made some critical plays on that end of the court. They do need more offense from him though, scoring or even passing.<\/p>\n

29 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, 42.9% TS, +10<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to hand it to BP: the dude is absolutely fearless. He was removed from the starting lineup, and some of the public comments from Kerr, Green, and Butler could have easily been perceived as being directed at least partially at him. Yet he still played like he had absolutely nothing to lose.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the good and the bad news. That mentality allowed Podz to make some critical plays on both ends of the court. He was everywhere, and also seemed to have a big moment up his sleeve. It also led to getting a little too big for his britches at times. The Warriors desperately want him to not turn the ball over, which he did three times, and he had a few plays that you could see visibly frustrated Kerr. It was the total Podz experience.<\/p>\n

Grade: B
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.<\/p>\n

5 minutes, 0 points, 1 steal, +2<\/p>\n

Post didn\u2019t do much in this game, good or bad. He didn\u2019t play much of a role, which wasn\u2019t surprising given the opposing team and the fact that Horford was available.<\/p>\n

15 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2-for-4 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 50.0% TS, +9<\/p>\n

Payton has mostly been out of the rotation, but was called on in this game and delivered in a big way. I\u2019m not sure if the plan was to play Payton \u2014 it would certainly make sense given San Antonio\u2019s numerous high-impact guards \u2014 or if it was just Kerr\u2019s desperation for some defense and rebounding, mixed with Kuminga\u2019s eventual absence. Either way, Payton had his best game of the year. He was at his absolute best defensively, and snagged boards while surrounded by players much taller than he is.<\/p>\n

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s DNP-CDs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gui Santos, Pat Spencer
Wednesday\u2019s inactives: De\u2019Anthony Melton, Jackson Rowe, Alex Toohey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors had perhaps their most impressive \u2014 and certainly their most needed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,6,969,474,4075,4074,534,8224],"class_list":{"0":"post-407296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-san-antonio","11":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","12":"tag-sanantonio","13":"tag-sanantoniospurs","14":"tag-spurs","15":"tag-warriors-player-grades"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115540990610657780","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}