When it comes to 19-year-old rookies on the Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga has stolen the thunder so far. Don’t sleep on Moses Moody, though.
Sporting a mean shiner under his left eye, Moody balled out in the fourth quarter of a tough 122-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Overall, the team can’t be feeling good about dropping its seventh game in the past nine tries and the second this week against the West’s current No. 5 seed. But Moody’s late contributions in Dallas may be remembered as the tipping point for increased playing time down the stretch, which has to be exciting for the Warriors and their front office.
“I’m ready to give him a lot of opportunity now,” Kerr said. “It could be different from one night to the next. He’s definitely moved himself up in the rotation.”
Until Thursday, Moody hasn’t been able to seize a bigger role over the past month as Andre Iguodala has been sidelined with various injuries. The rookie scored five quick points looked ready to have a big game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday but had to leave in the first quarter after his left eye swelled shut due to an elbow from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Limited to just five minutes in the first half Thursday, Moody poured in 13 fourth-quarter points, including three straight 3-pointers for the Warriors. The trifecta with 6:28 left knotted the game at 104-104. He didn’t play in the third quarter but carved out a 10-minute spurt for himself in the final period, finishing the game 5-of-5 from the field.
“Moses is such a hard worker and an incredibly bright, humble person,” Klay Thompson said. “I’m very proud of the way he played tonight. To come in there and play the way he did is a testament to his professionalism. For such a young player to be ready like that, it’s a testament to what future holds. Obviously he’s going to be a great player in this league for a long time.”
Kerr said Moody, the 2021 No. 14 overall pick, has been on the verge of a breakout. He has appeared in nine games with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, but none since Jan 30. Now Moody looks like he’s with Golden State for good.
“We’ve seen this coming from Moses for a while now,” Kerr said. “Moses is going to be part of things going forward. He’s now at the point where he’s ready to – as he showed tonight. You have to have guys like that because he’s got a big body, he’s got a long wingspan, he can guard multiple positions, he can switch. Those are the kinda players you have to have in the playoffs. I’m really excited about Moses.”
The rookies aren’t so green anymore.
When Kerr alludes to playoff minutes for Moody, he has a specific thought in mind. It showed in Thursday night’s game, as both he and Kuminga were on the floor together in the fourth quarter.
“Because Dallas picked us apart in the first half defensively, we wanted our most versatile, our most athletic defenders on the floor in the second half,” Kerr said. “JK and Moses came in and did a great job. It’s a great sign. As we go forward and we get to playoff basketball, it’s really all about two-way players. Those guys are two-way players.”
Jordan Poole can be electric, like he was on Thursday night. Both he and Andrew Wiggins (17 points) showed aggressiveness attacking the rim all night after struggling the past month and especially the past couple of games.
Poole dropped 23 points in 27 minutes on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting, but even that wasn’t enough to keep him on the floor in crunch time, as he sat the final 7:10 of the game. As good as Poole is at scoring, Moody can bring more on defense.
“He was aggressive and he got to the line a little bit and really attacked the rim, which I loved,” Kerr said of Poole. “Knocked down his threes. Jordan was great. Moses played so well down the stretch that he kept Jordan on the bench. But I thought Jordan’s effort and production was fantastic.”
It’s also worth noting that Nemanja Bjelica only played seven minutes, all in the first half, so perhaps Moody has finally leapfrogged him in Kerr’s pecking order.
“That’s good to hear,” Moody said of the chance of increased minutes. “But I’m gonna go with the flow. You never know how it goes.”
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The Mavs are no slouch of an opponent, especially when Luka Doncic drops 41 points and falls an assist shy of a triple-double. Moody said it was big for his development to be competing and producing in such a big-game environment when both teams were going tit-for-tat. Steph Curry knows a thing or two about high-stakes games and said Thursday could pay dividends for Moody later in the season.
“He’s obviously very athletic and brings a lot of energy for us,” Curry said. “Those reps are important because they’re going to get thrown into a playoff series. They have to contribute, they have to be ready. It’s great to see them take strides in the right direction and noticeably get better.”
Moody said he’s been trying to observe, ask and learn from the Warriors vets, saying he tries “to be around Draymond [Green] as much as possible.” Moody also shared the different ways he learns from each of the Splash Brothers.
“It’s harder to really watch Steph and learn from him,” Moody said. “Because a lot of times, his feet aren’t the same as it was last shot, or whatever it was, he just makes the shot. That might be more of a conversation. But Klay, he’s got more of a routine, more consistent with his body, how he shoots it. I’ve been able to really see everything from his base to his hips to his release to how he gets to his spots, ball placement, pickup point, all of that. Just things I’ve picked up through observation.”
