Stephen Curry's latest masterpiece is the biggest story from the Golden State Warriors' first win of the regular season. Another strong performance from Chris Paul certainly merits mention, as does Andrew Wiggins breaking out of his malaise of a debut to make winning plays on both sides of the ball. Kevon Looney still has Domantas Sabonis' number, and Jonathan Kuminga took another step toward proving he's ready for real rotation minutes on a veteran-led team with championship aspirations. Klay Thompson finally finding at least a semblance of his jumper and mojo is certainly a welcome development, too.
Big-picture, though, the most significant takeaway from the Dubs' hard-earned 122-114 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday has little to do with their future Hall-of-Famers, stalwart starters or even most prized young prospect, either. It's Moses Moody's performance that owns that distinction, and hardly due to his rock-solid numbers of 10 points, three rebounds and three steals on 4-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench, either.
Thompson explained what anyone diligently following the nuances of Friday's game quickly came to know about the third-year wing.
“I'm just seeing Mo just being active, getting O-boards. Mo's just a gamer,” he said of Moody. “He's not afraid of the moment, he's a great shooter, he's a great athlete and he just does the little things to help you win. Whether it's keeping the play alive, getting a big rebound, hitting an open shot. And to be 21 years old and doing all of this? Sky's the limit for Mo.”
Moses Moody has turned the corner for Warriors
You didn't have to squint to see Moody show signs of turning the corner in Golden State's season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. He was aggressive as ever offensively, confidently launching threes and attacking off the dribble, brimming with measured confidence also manifested on the other side of the ball as a back-line help defender. Moody crashed the glass with controlled abandon, too, picking up where he left off during his surprise addition to the rotation during the Warriors' 2022 playoff run.
But all those individual moments coalesced into a much fuller picture on Friday, when the Dubs' reserves largely thrived between Curry throwing haymakers at the team that's quickly become his favorite opponent. This game-changing sequence from the third quarter is a tidy encapsulation of the unique 3-and-D identity Moody has quickly carved out in 2023-24.
Moody's other made triple was much more difficult, a contested leaner from the left wing after he caught a “grenade” with just a few seconds left on the shot clock. His interception above as the “fill” defender in pick-and-roll defense was probably Moody's least impressive steal of the game.
Most of his six swipes through the season's first two contests have come as a weak-side helper in ball-screen coverage, where Moody's long arms and keen anticipation have made him Golden State's most disruptive forward—depending on the positional designation of Swiss Army Knife Gary Payton II, at least—on the back line.
But pigeonholing Moody as a reliable spot-up shooter and impactful help defender does his obvious all-around development a disservice. He opened eyes as a shot-maker from all over the floor against the Kings, splashing jumpers at different angles and with different launch points even while contested.
Does this look like a 21-year-old wing whose ceiling should be capped at role player?
It's too early to say Moody will ever be a team's top two or three scoring option, let alone a full-fledged star. He still lacks a degree of burst and wiggle off the bounce, physical deficiencies that also show up in his on-ball defense of quick guards. Odds are probably against him ever sopping up high usage offensively.
Those are questions to be answered at a much later date, though. For now, Moses Moody continues proving he's worthy of at least a regular rotation role, with semi-frequent appearances in Steve Kerr's closing lineups seemingly inevitable. That's a huge step not just for a young player who was largely forgotten during his first two years in the league, but also a Golden State team that needs close to its best from pretty much everyone on the roster to realize dreams of winning yet another championship.
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