Curious case of third-year wing continues in disappointing Golden State Warriors' loss

The Golden State Warriors sunk to a second-straight loss at Chase Center on Thursday night, with very little coming in the way of positives in a 114-102 defeat against an undermanned Miami Heat.

Having shot just 8-of-33 from three-point range, the Warriors never really threatened over the final 18 minutes as the Heat produced a clinical performance minus their superstar Jimmy Butler. In fairness, Golden State never packed it in, with a couple of younger players again impressing down the stretch.

Along with a third career double-double for rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis, third-year wing Moses Moody notched 11 points in less than 13 minutes during a night where Steve Kerr claimed his team was 'demoralized'.

Moses Moody continues to be a curious case for the Golden State Warriors amid an inconsistent role and playing time for the 21-year-old

Moody's role and opportunity has been a storyline for the majority of the season, with the former lottery pick remaining ever-ready despite the in-and-out nature of his spot in the rotation.

Moody played only two-and-a-half minutes in the Christmas Day loss to the Denver Nuggets, having become a victim of Steve Kerr's decision to shorten his rotation to nine players. With Jackson-Davis and fellow rookie Brandin Podziemski emerging as key contributors, Moody's place is in a state of flux among a deep Golden State roster.

How we got to this point is a curious scenario -- Moody almost always plays relatively well, leading to most fans imploring for him to play more. That was again the case on Thursday with Moody producing a number of strong drives to the rim and producing multiple defensive plays that included two blocked shots.

Moody's situation essentially symoblizes the issue with the Golden State roster. While he doesn't have the upside of what the likes of Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson can produce, there's often nights where he's the best of that quartet.

Where does that leave Kerr? It puts him an unenviable situation of having to quickly understand and make decisions based on who has it rolling on any given night. That's a tough proposition to negotiate, even for a four-time championship-winning coach.

Moody was a team-high +10 in the 12-point defeat. While it's easy to state that he should have played more, it's more difficult to ascertain who he should have displaced given Golden State had entered winning five of its past six games.

With Draymond Green and Gary Payton II still to return to the Warrior lineup, Moody's opportunity could become even murkier going forward. Given that uncertain nature, the former 14th overall pick should be someone to monitor ahead of the February 8 trade deadline.