Update: Moses Moody will make his regular season debut for the Golden State Warriors against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN's Anthony Slater.
Moses Moody's return could not come at a better time.
The Golden State Warriors are hopeful that the fifth-year wing will make his season debut on the road versus the Portland Trail Blazers, the back end of an early-season back-to-back. Moody has missed the first two games of the season due to a minor left calf strain sustained in training camp, but has a chance to return to the lineup in Portland. The Warriors never expressed too much concern for Moody's calf strain, but opted for caution given how tricky that injury can become.
Pre-game, before Golden State's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, head coach Steve Kerr shared his optimism for Moody's return.
“We're hopeful that he'll play tomorrow,” Kerr said at the time. “He scrimmaged yesterday. We didn't have practice, but some of the low-minute guys came in [to scrimmage]. I talked to Moses today, and he said he's feeling good. So I'm hopeful he'll play tomorrow night and that's the plan.”
Golden State will be a bit shorthanded as they will not have Al Horford due to load management. Horford will not play both games in any back-to-backs this season, and he already got his run in 26 taxing minutes versus Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. The plan is still to play Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, but they each played upwards of 34 minutes. Hence, Moody's return to the lineup comes at a convenient time. Golden State gets some youth and athleticism back that should give the veterans some relief on both ends and allow Steve Kerr to distribute the minutes to ease their burden.
How Moody figures to fit into the Warriors' lineup
Before his calf strain, Moody was projected to start for Golden State and serve as their de facto point-of-attack defender. Following the Jimmy Butler trade last season, Moody rose to the starting lineup next to Curry, Green, Brandin Podziemski, and the newly acquired star, a combination that became Golden State's most potent in their 23-8 sprint to the playoffs.
In 211 minutes, that 5-man combination had a 120.6 offensive rating, a 104.2 defensive rating, and a 16.4 net rating, not to mention a 2.45 assist-to-turnover ratio. Moody, in that lineup, guarded the opposing team's ballhandlers. And on the other end, spaced the floor as a shooting and slashing threat. The wheels fell off a bit for Moody in the postseason as his shooting numbers declined. But a big part of the decline came due to a UCL injury in his right thumb he was playing through. Moody underwent surgery on his thumb in the offseason and described how the rehab process helped him get better with his off-hand.
Moody should be able to return to form once he returns from his calf strain. His shooting looked as good as ever in training camp before he suffered the calf strain. His 3-and-D versatility gives Kerr another tool to use depending on the matchup. The head coach has stressed that the team has a lot to figure out rotationally, as they have yet to nail that down. But given how Moody does the two things Kerr wants for his system, defense and spacing, his reintegration shouldn't be too difficult.
