Why Moody can’t be Kerr, Warriors’ odd man out this season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
A quicker shot and quicker decision-making. Those two parts of the game are what Warriors coach Steve Kerr highlighted in bold and with the caps lock on to Moses Moody going into his fourth season after being the last pick of the lottery by Golden State in the 2021 NBA Draft.
This is far from the finish line. Moody knows that as much as anybody else. It’s a five-game sample of five games that don’t even count in the record books. What these five games have represented for Moody, that counts.
It has to.
It feels like a moment – a Moses Moody moment.
“He’s playing great,” Kerr told reporters Tuesday night after the Warriors’ fifth straight preseason win. “He’s gotten so much better in so many ways. We’ve always loved his character, his work ethic, but I think this is the most confidence that he’s played with. He’s going to play a big role for us.”
Moody in 19 minutes off the bench during the Warriors’ 111-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena scored a team-high 21 points. And as Kerr mentioned, Moody’s confidence has been a bright beacon of the Warriors’ perfect 5-0 preseason record.
Second-guessing seems like a thing of the past for the 22-year-old. Moody isn’t afraid to hit a 3-pointer right on LeBron James like he did Tuesday night. Kerr has encouraged Moody to let his 3-point shot fly as the Warriors look to be one of the top teams from long distance, and he’s answered the challenge. Moody shot seven threes against the Lakers and connected on five.
For his career, he has shot 36 percent as a 3-point shooter. After another solid showing, Moody now is up to 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from three this preseason.
Waiting for his turn beyond the arc isn’t Moody’s game, though. Throughout the preseason, one of his more noticeable improvements is his movement off the ball and being a threat on the run. Like any great scorer in Kerr’s system, Moody is coming off screens, attacking downhill when the opportunity presents itself and even creating his own shot in the mid-range.
“That’s been the latest part of this journey,” Moody said. “And in the weight room, too – being able to come off [screen] at a high speed, stop and control my body for the jump shot.”
Along with impressive 3-point numbers, Moody has been efficient as a scorer. He was 7 of 14 from the field, which has been on track with the rest of his preseason. Moody now has shot 44.1 percent on 11.8 field goal attempts per game in the preseason, which is 5.4 more than took last regular season.
The continuation of Kerr’s answer when asked about Moody and the rotation, however, has been the same brick wall Moody has run into time and time again during his early Warriors tenure.
“So are a lot of other guys,” Kerr said about playing time. “We’re sitting in that coaches room every day saying, ‘How do we play all these guys?’ Because they all deserve to play. I’ve asked all of them to play your hardest, make it difficult for us and they’re all doing that.”
Golden State’s depth again was its greatest strength against the Lakers. Moody was a plus-17, second to only Kyle Anderson, who was a plus-22 off the bench with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Buddy Hield and Kevon Looney were each a plus-16, and Gary Payton II was a plus-13.
All of them are rotation players. Even Lindy Waters III because of his smooth shot will force minutes from Kerr. Andrew Wiggins was back, making his preseason debut but doing so at shooting guard. Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton were both out, and both will have two of the biggest roles on the team.
Kerr also can’t go 13 players deep. Tough decisions will have to be made on a nightly basis for him and his coaching staff. Game by game, there will be an odd man out – more than one in fact.
Only one preseason game remains until the scores finally count. Come opening night against the Portland Trail Blazers, Moody, a one-and-done prospect from Arkansas, should have a cap and gown on for graduating from the lecture halls of Odd Man Out class, firmly establishing himself in the Warriors’ rotation.
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