How Moody’s arduous journey led to ‘established’ Warriors starter role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – The distance from the far end of the Warriors’ bench to the starting lineup is about 15 feet. For reasons mostly beyond his control, Moses Moody needed more than three years to navigate that distance.
Now that he is there, Moody is making a strong case to stay put.
Moody made six starts in 54 games before being elevated last week. In two starts in his new role as a 6-foot-5, 210-pound power forward, he’s averaging 16 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field, including 6-of-12 from distance.
He’s up to eight starts this season and the Warriors won all eight games. But that’s not why Moody is in the starting lineup with Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
Moody is starting because he performed well after receiving consistent playing time within the rotation operated by coach Steve Kerr. And because he and the Warriors are thriving – both getting a strong boost from Butler.
“Just the confidence that’s coming from consistent playing time and minutes,” Kerr said late Friday night. “And he’s a good fit playing next to BP, Steph and Jimmy. Those guys are all playmakers, with Draymond. And he can play the role that I think he’s most comfortable in, which is space the floor, let it fly when he’s open, play hard and compete.
“Moses is in a really good place and has really established himself as a starter with this group.”
The word “established” could not be attached to Moody during his first three seasons. Selected No. 14 overall as the second of Golden State’s two first-round selections in the 2021 NBA Draft, Moody’s minutes came and went like rainbows. You never knew when he’d be seen, and he never knew when he’d appear.
He made 23 starts in his first three seasons and generally performed well. He sometimes would languish on the bench for several games, a spectator with a courtside seat. The inconsistency of his playing time spawned a subculture within Dub Nation that has spent a couple years pleading for more Moody.
And now they’re getting it because it’s working.
“I’ve been playing a lot more,” Moody said Saturday after a light practice. “I’ve been in some hard situations my first couple years in the league where it’s like playing, you might come out and coach would tell me that I’m not doing anything wrong. It’s nothing to do with me.
“But I’m playing 15 minutes a game, get in for that long and miss two shots and that’s all you get. Not complaining about the situation, because it has been what it is. It’s not anybody’s fault. With the lineups and teams that we had, there wasn’t much opportunity on the floor and I just kind of have to deal with it.
“Given that that’s been the situation for a lot of time, being able to play consistent minutes is more comfortable to me. That’s what I’m used to doing for as long as I played basketball before being in the NBA.”
Moody is ideal in at least one significant way in Kerr’s system. He’s a prototypical positionless player, capable of defending at least three positions on one end and spreading the floor on the other. He’s shooting 38.4 percent beyond the arc, which is essential in an offense featuring interior performers Butler and Green.
Moody’s last game, Friday in Sacramento, was one of the best in his career. He scored 22 points, tying Buddy Hield for team high. Both were 8-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-8 beyond the arc. Such efficiency is not sustainable, but it indicates what’s possible with the open shots created by Curry’s gravity, Green passing from the top of the arc and Butler operating out of the mid post.
“The player that I’ve been able to be (lately) is the player that I am,” Moody said. “Just being able to have more time to showcase that and get a groove and fall into that role, that’s been fun. Being able to play basketball the way I always have.”
At 6-foot-5, Moody is about four inches shorter than a typical NBA power forward but it’s the average height of Golden State’s starting lineup. It’s irrelevant, so far, and there is no doubt Moody will do all he can to keep it that way.
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