Among a raft of positives for the Golden State Warriors over recent months, the development of Moses Moody has been a huge storyline after years of battling through an inconsistent role and playing time.
Moody has become the 3-and-D wing many previously envisioned, having taken advantage of Andrew Wiggins' departure to become a key starting piece on a team that now holds championship aspirations.
Since becoming a full-time starter on February 13, Moody is averaging 11.6 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range and becoming a big part of an elite defensive group. More importantly, the Warriors are 19-5 during this period and are an incredible 25-5 in games Moody starts this season.
Moses Moody's minutes with the Warriors will still fluctuate
While Moody and the team's form would suggest that he should have taken a huge step into a guaranteed 25-30+ minute per game role, that's not necessarily the case as we enter the final week of the regular season.
Head coach Steve Kerr revealed on Sunday (via Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard) that Moody is seemingly the odd one out of Golden State's starting lineup. While Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green will almost always be part of Kerr's closing lineups, Moody is one of a host of players who may be the fifth guy to finalize that unit on a game-by-game basis.
Pregame, Kerr made a point about the rotation beyond the top three or four guys (including Podziemski).
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) April 6, 2025
Said any one of the other guys could close any game and then not close the next depending on matchup & moment.
That group: Kuminga, Moody, Post, Santos, GP2 and Looney.
Just hours after those comments were made, Moody played only 14 minutes in the Warriors' 106-96 loss to the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. It was the 22-year-old's lowest playing time since January 13 against the Toronto Raptors, with Kerr preferring Buddy Hield (25 minutes), Gary Payton II (22 minutes) and Jonathan Kuminga (19 minutes) as alternative options off the bench.
It's hard to argue that was the wrong decision given Moody was ineffective in his limited playing time, finishing with three points on 1-of-7 shooting (1-of-4 from deep) while being a -11 in the 10-point defeat.
Given Golden State are an incredible 14-1 with their current lineup, no one is suggesting that Moody's starting role is in jeopardy despite Sunday's quiet performance. However, it is an indication that the former 14th overall pick still needs to earn his minutes, rather than simply walking into 25 minutes a night based on reputation.
It may be slightly concerning that Sunday's limited playing time occurred on the eve of the postseason, but that shouldn't mask Moody's otherwise excellent form and his status as one of the biggest positives from the Warriors' season.