With Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green out for Wednesday's meeting with the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center, many fans were looking towards Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski to see if they could lead the team and particularly the offense without the star veteran trio.
Instead, it was Moses Moody who led Golden State's comeback efforts down the stretch in the fourth-quarter, and in doing so unlocking a new gene that not even his biggest fans knew was inside the fifth-year wing.
Moses Moody is becoming a legitimate scoring option for the Warriors
Moody's often been viewed within the lens of a prototypical 3-and-D player -- someone who can average 12-13 points per game and take on significant defensive responsibilities out on the perimeter.
That sort of player is incredibly valuable and Moody's three-year, $37.5 million contract already looks like a major steal for the Warriors, but perhaps we're not giving him enough credit in pigeonholing him as a just a 3-and-D piece.
When Golden State were desperate to find offense in the fourth-quarter on Wednesday night, it was Moody -- not Kuminga or Podziemski -- that looked most likely. He dropped 12 points in the final period on 3-of-5 shooting, mixing his increasingly reliable 3-point shot with downhill drives to the rim that resulted in four free-throws.
One of those came after a highlight play in which he attacked the rim with force and bulldozed through former teammate Dennis Schroder on his way to an and-one layup. It was the sort of intent that demonstrates Moody's growing comfort within his own game, something that was also evident late last season before a significant thumb injury (that he played through) halted his progress.
Moody's 28 points against the Kings set a new season-high, but it was also his third 20+ point game in his last six appearances after missing the first two games of the season with a calf strain. These scoring bursts suggest he's capable of being more than just a 3-and-D type, which if proven true and consistent could take the Warriors to a whole new level over the remainder of this season and beyond.
The former 14th overall pick has leapt Podziemski to become Golden State's fourth-leading scorer per game so far this season, while shooting a blistering 51.7% from 3-point range in the process. With these numbers and his claim as the team's best perimeter defender, the major question now is whether Steve Kerr and the Warriors parachute him back into a full-time starter sooner rather than later.