Grading Every Golden State Warriors Player's 2nd Round Performance so Far

A series with the San Antonio Spurs that's going to Game 6? Is this real life? I pinched myself this morning but nothing happened. This isn't normal. 

Those are but a few thoughts rambling around the collective brains of many Golden State Warriors fans. After a scintillating first round against the Denver Nuggets, the Dubs have brought their grittiness and excellent play on both sides of the ball against the Spurs, and have even out-Spurs'd them at times. 

With defense, timely shooting and a ton of heart, the Warriors have a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals. 

If I had told you this before the season started, or after Brandon Rush and Andrew Bogut's injury, you'd think I was doing whatever smell wafts through the air after an Oracle Arena game. All this despite a Game 5 stinker, as well. 

With all that being said, here are some preliminary grades through the second round; I looked at the impact players made relative to their minutes played, and tried not to take raw stats into too much account because of injuries placing players in tough situations. 

Andris Biedrins/Richard Jefferson

Both guys have combined for 7.7 total minutes in this series. 

They've made two plays that's been noteworthy: Richard Jefferson drawing a charge on a fastbreak and Andris Biedrins tackling Tim Duncan as he went to the basket. 

The best part?

"

Mark Jackson said he had to call Biedrins' name 3 times to go in game Sunday and heads turned on bench. "Everybody was surprised," he said.

— Antonio Gonzalez (@agonzalezAP) May 13, 2013"

The fact that they both came in during a postseason game and the Warriors didn't self-destruct deserves a passing grade in itself. 

B

Festus Ezeli

Festus Ezeli is a rookie. Playing rotation minutes for a playoff team. Against the San Antonio Spurs. 

So excuse me if I am going to grade him on a curve. He still has problems catching the ball and setting screens, but he's competing on the floor and hasn't looked terribly out of whack against the greatest power forward of all time. 

There are many things to improve on, but as of right now, his quick, agile feet and lively body is enough to flummox some of the attackers en route to the basket. 

His activity alone on the glass has caused the Spurs fits in certain moments. 

B-

David Lee

Insert David Lee and Willis Reed comparison here. 

Jackson played Lee against the Denver Nuggets, and it seemed to instill some inspiration. He even drew up the same play that Reed ran when he came back from his injury. 

He's seen his minutes steadily increase since then, even making a couple shots in Game 3, but he has been mostly quiet with his play. Lee will most likely need surgery, but his toughness and ability to fight through his injury says a ton about his leadership abilities. 

As for the on-court play, his defense is about the same as it was pre-injury, which isn't good. But we'll give him a break here. 

C for gameplay. A++++ for effort. 

Draymond Green

With David lee hobbled, much has been made made about Harrison Barnes's play, and we'll get to that later. But an unsung hero has been Green and his play as the perimeter defender and passer on offense. 

On several occasions in the first two games in San Antonio, he became the release valve for Klay Thompson and Barnes when the Spurs doubled them. 

His shooting has slowed down, but his defense has not, as he is averaging 4.6 rebounds in under 20 minutes and harassing Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on the perimeter. 

There were several lineups in Game 4 that had Green playing the 4 or 5 with Bogut in foul trouble. 

B+

Carl Landry

Carl Landry hasn't defended well either because of the play of Tim Duncan, or the limited post touches he's gotten to get himself going, but he did make a clutch shot at the end of Game 4 that clinched the victory for the Warriors. 

He's also provided a spark to the team, as he did in the beginning of the regular season, shooting over 50 percent and scoring 11+ points in about 20 minutes per contest. 

While he doesn't bring Lee's ability to shoot or pass, he does finish stronger and is a relatively better defender. 

B+

Jarrett Jack

What else is there to say at this point?

Jarrett Jack was the scapegoat at the end of Game 3, repeatedly turning the ball over and icing a game in which the Warriors as a whole failed to execute. 

Then in Game 4, he made repeated jump shots at the end of the game to push the Spurs into overtime and grabbing a huge defensive rebound to call a timeout. 

There are bad sequences, and there are great sequences on the roller coaster that is the Jack experience. 

But believe it or not, the Warriors will need Jack to keep playing, because he is one of the better backup point guards in the league and has the ability to relieve the pressure off Thompson and Barnes when they are struggling. 

Jack is key to the Warriors success, and isn't that how the season has gone for the Dubs?

B

Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes took 26 shots and had 26 points in Game 4. However, many of those were great shots that came in the flow of the game, and plenty were missed foul calls. 

His newfound aggression with Curry hobbled and Thompson smothered is an interesting dilemma for Warriors management, who love Lee as the power forward. 

But for this series, Barnes has been up and down, unable to establish much of a presence on offense despite virtual mismatches on the floor at every position. 

Throughout the last two games, he's had several Kobe-esque moves where he has taken the defender to the basket and pump-faked before hitting a controlled pull-up jumper. 

The guy has a bright future. 

B+

Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson, after a sensational Game 2 where he was  knocking down three after three to go with his now standard great defense, has vanished from sight and from mind. 

Blame it on fatigue or the blanketing of the long arms of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, but he hasn't shown much on the offensive end in this series. 

Despite his struggles, keep this in mind; he's played every single game the last two seasons, so his fatigue and struggles are a bit warranted. 

C+

Andrew Bogut

Bogut was crucial through the first four games because, despite a late-season swoon, he's somehow morphed into a semi-healthy defensive monster. 

In a Game 4 sequence, he blocked Duncan on a fallaway, and then recovered to contest his running hook and got the rebound. Bogut has also deterred many penetrations, and pushed out other rebounders on his way to an 18-rebound performance in Game 4. 

However, his consistencies in the first four games failed to show up in Game 5, because of a tweaked ankle and a Spurs team that made more shots. 

Despite what may be a bitter ending to Bogut's season, Warriors fans should be happy as long as he's healthy next season. 

B+

Stephen Curry

The playoffs have been Stephen Curry's, but in the past 3 games, the Spurs are doing their best to shut it down and send him home. 

After a scintillating Game 1—a game in which the Warriors choked a double-digit lead in the last four minutes—Curry has been relatively contained, with it all culminating in his Game 3 injury and Game 5 beatdown. 

His ankle has been a major problem, and fatigue is starting to set in as he's played in every game and logged heavy minutes throughout. Despite all that, he's still exhibited toughness and the leadership qualities you want to see in your best player. 

After a thorough Game 5 slamming, he pinned the loss on himself and stated how badly he played and that the ankle shouldn't be an excuse. It's easy to blame other players or even physical injuries as a problem, but Curry is firmly entrenched as the face of the franchise. 

He's done it all this postseason. 

A