In the wake of Moses Moody's devastating knee injury, the Golden State Warriors will need its bench to contribute even more. Moody was having the best season of his young career, averaging 12.1 points on 40.1% from three in his 60 games played, and his injury will leave a hole.
Several members of the Warriors' second unit could benefit from a strong finish to the season. Gary Payton II will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and it's still unclear whether the Warriors will bring him back, while two-way players LJ Cryer and Nate Williams have shown flashes and are still in pursuit of another NBA contract.
Strength in numbers off the bench
Over the last eight games, the Warriors' second unit has scored the second-most points (427) in the league while topping the 60-point mark four times in that same stretch.
Payton's 17 points against Dallas on Monday extended his streak of double-figure games to eight, matching a career-high. The little big man has been a constant boost in his limited time on the court, averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals in just 22.7 minutes during the streak. With how thin Golden State's front court is projected to be next season, GPII is making a strong case to help fill that void.
After performing his way into an NBA contract earlier in the year, Pat Spencer has remained reliable. As he's set to become a restricted free agent this summer, he's provided the Warriors with much-needed playmaking during Steph Curry's extended absence. He currently ranks third on the team in total assists this season with 191, trailing only Brandin Podziemski (271) and Draymond Green (314), despite averaging just over 17 minutes a night and appearing in 16 fewer games than Podz.
A successful developmental story that hasn't been talked about enough is that of Cryer’s. The undrafted rookie out of Houston worked his way up from the Summer League roster to the G League, where he showcased both his shooting ability and defensive IQ before eventually earning NBA minutes and a well-deserved two-way contract. The ease with which he knocks down outside shots has stood out. He's averaged over 2.5 made threes over his last nine games while leading the team in net rating (+ 7.1) during that same span, including a team-best 104.3 in defensive rating.
Both Will Richard and Nate Williams have showed their hustle and scrappiness when given the opportunity. The latter even set a new career high in points last week in Atlanta, tallying 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor.
That uptick in bench production will be tested as soon as Wednesday night with the Brooklyn Nets — a team that leads the league in bench points over the last 15 games — coming to town. The Nets have dropped eight straight, while the Warriors are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since Jimmy Butler went down on Jan. 19.