Klay Thompson, Steph Curry graded in Warriors loss to Hawks

It’s too late in the season for moral victories. For the second straight game, the Golden State Warriors looked notably better on the road. And for the 10th straight time, they lost on the road.

This time it was to the Atlanta Hawks, who overcame an early 12-point Warriors lead, and then withstood a late Warriors rally, to beat the Dubs 127-119.

Ugh.

Let’s grade the players. As always, they’re graded based on my expectations, with a “B” representing the average play for a player. Apologies if they’re harsh, but I’m frustrated. Draymond Green gets an honorary failing grade for not being available after picking up a 16th technical foul a few days after proudly proclaiming that he couldn’t be baited into one.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. League-average TS is 58.1%.

26 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 5-for-12 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, 0-for-2 free throws, 38.8% TS, +5

Kuminga took Dray’s spot in the starting lineup. It’s not surprising that he couldn’t impersonate everything that Green does, but he did a pretty good job with some of it.

He flashed his athleticism on a lot of occasions, and created problems for the Hawks going to the rim as a cutter and offensive rebounder. I was pretty impressed with his defense in this game, and even though his shot wasn’t falling, I thought he played in control all game long.

Grade: B

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

34 minutes, 18 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 4 fouls, 8-for-10 shooting, 2-for-4 free throws, 76.5% TS, +1

I will not let this bad game keep me from having a Looney appreciation thread. Because what a damn game.

Looney started the day on the injury report. But with the Dubs shorthanded, Looney played his second-highest minutes total of the season. He patrolled and controlled the paint on both ends of the court. I mean ... a hyper-efficient 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks, with 3 assists and no turnovers for good measure?

It’s not quite as egregious as failing to capitalize on Steph Curry’s 50-piece during Wednesday’s loss, but ... the Dubs did Looney dirty.

Grade: A+

Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.

37 minutes, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 fouls, 12-for-27 shooting, 4-for-13 threes, 3-for-3 free throws, 54.7% TS, -1

Gotta feel bad for Curry in this one. You could see just how badly he wanted this win, and how hard he was trying ... and you could see the frustration since he new that if he played at all like he did on Wednesday, the Dubs probably would have won.

Curry was still excellent, because he’s Steph Curry, and that’s what he does. But by his standards, it was an uncharacteristically sloppy game with poor shooting, and he knows it was winnable.

Grade: C

Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

35 minutes, 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 6 turnovers, 6-for-14 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 51.9% TS, -8

Odd game for Klay. He crashed the glass hard, tying his season-high in rebounds. He had some nice playmaking, finishing an assist shy of his season-high. He tied his season-high for steals and blocked a pair of shots.

He also turned the ball over like it was going out of style, and looked nothing like the player who set a career high in points per game averages in January.

Grade: C+

36 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 6-for-13 shooting, 3-for-9 threes, 3-for-4 free throws, 61.0% TS, -6

I was going to ask where the Warriors would be without DiVincenzo, but the answer is exactly where they are right now: losing.

Still, his play in this game was remarkable. He was the team’s best playmaker, but didn’t turn the ball over. He was arguably their best defender, and the guy tasked with matching up against Trae Young, and he didn’t have a foul.

I’m already mourning losing him this offseason.

Grade: A

Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.

14 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-2 free throws, 77.3% TS, -9

Nice bench minutes for JMG. He’s been playing pretty well lately, and the energy, scoring, and rebounding that he provides is necessary in some games, even if his plus/minus is usually ugly since he gets put in the not so good lineups.

Grade: B+

21 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 57.1% TS, -11

Lamb was playing in his first game since March 5, and his first game since having his two-way contract converted into a guaranteed deal. He was also on the court in the closing lineup, partially due to the team being so shorthanded, and partially due to the fact that he was playing well.

Grade: B

Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.

24 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-12 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 46.6% TS, -11

I don’t really want to talk about this Poole performance. It was bad and frustrating.

Grade: D+

Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.

13 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1-for-2 free throws, 56.8% TS, 0 plus/minus

This game was a reminder as to why people clamor for Moody to get more playing time. IT was also a reminder as to why Kerr doesn’t listen to those people very often.

On the one hand, in a game where the Warriors were inventing new ways to trip on their own shoelaces, Moody didn’t seem to do a single thing wrong in 13 minutes. On the other hand, in 13 minutes can you remember anything notable that Moody did do?

Right now Moody’s game is basically just the absence of messing up, and nothing more.

Grade: C+

Friday’s DNPs: Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Friday’s inactives: Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Ty Jerome, Gary Payton II, Lester Quiñones, Ryan Rollins, Andrew Wiggins