The Golden State Warriors have stalled out a bit this season, and their two most incompatible players are the two guys they drafted together in the 2021 NBA Draft: Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. They haven’t played well when on the court together, yet the Warriors have found success with one of the other on the hardwood.
With Kuminga in the lineup next to Stephen Curry, Brandin Poddziemski, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, the five-man group ranks in the 86th percentile in net rating. Meanwhile, the Warriors are in the 96th percentile with Moody on the court and without Kuminga.
However, the two-man lineup of Kuminga and Moody on the court together ranks in just the 14th percentile in net rating. It’s a pretty wild drop-off.
How are Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody?
For the first time all season, Steve Kerr decided to keep Kuminga out of the starting lineup in their November 12 game against the San Antonio Spurs. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game due to a knee injury after playing just 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, even though Kuminga has been playing more minutes per game this season, Moody has also been a staple of the Warriors’ rotation on a night-to-night basis.
So far this year, Kuminga has appeared in all 13 of the Warriors’ games, racking up 12 starts and playing 27.7 minutes per contest. He has averaged 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 47.8% from the floor and 32.4% from deep on 2.8 three-point attempts per contest.
As for Moody, he has appeared in 11 of the Warriors’ games, starting three of them and playing 22.9 minutes per contest. He has averaged 12.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 42.7% from the field and 44.3% from distance on 6.4 three-point attempts per game.
Both have turned themselves into very quality role players for the Warriors, who undoubtedly have title expectations this season with Curry, Butler, Green, and Al Horford leading the way.
Unfortunately for Kerr, when Kuminga and Moody have been on the court together, things haven’t gone well for the Warriors.
For right now, that isn’t too big of a deal, especially if Kerr can keep lineups on the floor that only feature one or the other. With the depth they have on the roster, Golden State can compete for a championship.
However, with how featured both of those guys should theoretically be in the Warriors’ future plans, it could be a problem for them to deal with down the line.