How Moses Moody has stayed game-ready after fall from Warriors’ rotation
Moses Moody was needed in last year's NBA playoffs; Warriors are making
sure he's ready if needed again

>Golden State Warriors’ Moses Moody (4) dunks the ball against the
Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 13, 2023 at 7:35 a.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2023 at
11:12 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/13/how-moses-moody-has-stayed-game-ready-after-fall-from-warriors-rotation/

SAN FRANCISCO — One Warriors mantra has become cliché, though it’s
always pertinent come playoff time: Stay ready. A player collecting dust
on the bench could be tapped any minute to play in a must-win moment.

That happened to Moses Moody during Game 2 of the Western Conference
finals last year. His team faced a double-digit deficit at the half and
the coaching staff had a twist in mind, calling upon the rookie to play
his first big playoff minutes.

Moody recorded only two points and one assist, but he made a defensive
impact in 10 fourth-quarter minutes through smart positioning, quick
reads and a key deflection. The Warriors won Moody’s minutes by eight
points and took a commanding 2-0 series lead, staying on track for a
quick series to make the NBA Finals.

Because of moments like that series, the Warriors felt comfortable
letting Damion Lee walk with Moody stepping up. A year later, the
Warriors are back in the playoffs and Moody is back where he was before
— riding the bench, opportunities scarce. Far too many defensive
mistakes early in the season did him in.

The 20-year-old isn’t bothered by his diminished role, instead embracing
practice reps and the Warriors’ game simulation plan to improve his
decision-making. The Warriors insist Moody is staying ready to be a
potential X-factor this postseason if Steve Kerr turns to him.

General manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr were shocked when they
checked in with him about the role change midway through the year. Not
only was he unbothered, he had perspective.

“He said, ‘Look, I chose to play in the NBA, I chose to develop in the
NBA, not at Arkansas,” Kerr said last week. “If I was at Arkansas, I
would be playing. But I chose to develop in the NBA and this is part of
it.’ That’s, like, the most mature answer I’ve ever heard anybody give.

“But that’s who he is, he’s just a really mature young guy and he gets
it. There’s a lot to learn but he puts in the work, he puts in the time,
and he’s got an incredible attitude. The work is paying off, he’s
getting better and tonight, he was one of the keys to the game.”

Though you might catch Moody cheering from the back of the bench most
games, he isn’t collecting dust. The Warriors, and Moody, are going to
great lengths to make sure he’s working through the kinks and ready for
the playoffs again.

It’s a process that tells us plenty about the team’s development — and
more about Moody’s maturity.

- Behind the scenes

Moody has played as many minutes as Steph Curry this season. That’s how
the Warriors are counting them.

That’s because the Golden State staff has Moody and other players who
don’t play significant game minutes partake in “game-sense minutes”
during side scrimmages throughout the week.

“The challenge is, ‘How do we create game opportunities for him that
aren’t on the game floor?’” assistant coach Jama Mahlalehla said. “So we
create opportunity on the practice floor.”

After team practices and during off days — when the main rotation
players get the day to rest — guys like Moody, two-way player Lester
Quiñones and rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. come to the practice court to
scrimmage with coaches and staff, particularly those who have recently
played in the NBA. Think video coordinator Mychel Thompson (Klay’s
brother) and assistant Hilton Armstrong.

The objective is to simulate the intensity of a real NBA game.

Moody found himself on the bench after making a series of mistakes in
most of the team’s defensive coverages early on.

And while Moody and his teammates are banking high-intensity minutes,
the coaching staff is tracking every play a player makes to determine if
he is making a mistake or not. Moody and other players go over
game-sense minute film as if it is a game, too. That entails video
coordinator Will Sheehey watching all the film and writing down how the
players perform in every coverage — correct ones and mistakes — on a
running list.

In that way, it’s more than just a game of pick-up. Improvement during
game-sense minutes can earn players minutes in games. It takes a unique
dedication to make the most of these scrimmages — Mahalehla and the
Warriors have seen vast improvement from Moody in particular.

“Even though he plays two, three minutes in the NBA garbage time game.
He’s played 25 minutes of 5-on-5 here and we can evaluate those minutes
and see how many mistakes he makes on pick and roll coverage, trapping
the box, any of those sorts of things,” Mahlalehla said. “That is his
biggest thing, making mistakes. The fact he’s getting experience and
making less mistakes makes it way more potential he can play in an NBA
game.”

Will practice minutes translate to playoff minutes?

“He’s doing it at an elite enough level that it will translate,”
Mahlalehla said. “The brain is still making the connections. Those
repetitions and decisions you make full speed will translate.

“Other players may play the same game-sense minutes, but he chooses to
play them with passion and focus and purpose to say this will get me
better as opposed to, ‘OK I have to go play game-sense minutes.’”

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Mentality has everything to do with how game-sense minutes translate
to NBA minutes. And Moody’s work ethic stands out.

- Moody’s disposition

Two weeks ago, the Warriors returned to San Francisco at 1 a.m., a
little demoralized from a rough loss in Denver. So staff returning
equipment back to Chase Center at 2 a.m. were shocked to see Moody in
the facility running sprints and getting shots up by himself on the
court. No one knew he’d be there.

Moody got a rare opportunity in the Warriors’ next game when Klay
Thompson sat out injured against Oklahoma City. He scored 13 points,
went 3-of-5 from 3 and added five rebounds and a block.

“He wants to make sure he gets as close as possible. It’s incredible
maturity,” Mahlalehla said. “He’s very aware that he doesn’t want the
train to pass him by.”

Moody may not be playing for fans to see, but he’s on the train. And the
team may just need him again in the playoffs.

--
Shayna Rubin | General Assignment Sports Reporter
Shayna Rubin is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter for The Mercury
News and East Bay Times. She covered the Oakland A's from 2019 to 2021
and, most recently, the Golden State Warriors' championship run in 2022.
Shayna is a San Francisco native. She is a graduate of San Francisco
State University with a BA degree in journalism and a MA degree in
broadcasting and electronic communication arts.