Moses Moody makes Summer League debut as larger Warriors role looms

The return of Moses Moody to the Warriors Summer League lineup wasn’t enough to propel Golden State past the Lakers in the California Classic Sunday as they fell to Los Angeles 100-77.

Golden State shot 40.9% from the field as a team and turned the ball over 13 times in the 23-point loss.

Aside from a sneaky good game from undrafted rookie Lester Quinones, who had 19 points on 3-for-6 shooting from behind the arc, the Warriors summer squad failed to produce consistent scoring for the second-straight game.

Moody’s debut excited fans as he received a standing ovation from the crowd when his name was called during the announcement of starting lineups. The 2021 14th overall selection from Arizona went 3-for-11 in his return, recording nine points and three assists. In 52 games with the Warriors last season, Moody averaged 4.4 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Moody suffered a cut over his left eye early in the game that forced him to get two stitches. Even with the early injury, Moody had a bandage placed over the cut and continued to play.

Moody, who suffered injuries to the same eye last season, was not a fan of old nicknames being used to describe the stitches he had to get after the game:

It sucks cause I just got rid of my nicknames that I had earlier in the year, but now they’re back … They used to call me ‘barfight’ and ‘Captain Jack’ and now they’re all coming back.”

Rookie standout Gui Santos struggled to get going, scoring seven points and turning the ball over four times. Santos was also 1-for-4 from the free throw line.

Golden State’s ability to hit shots from the perimeter kept them in the game early. Six of eight made shots in the first quarter were from outside the paint. Quinones got to his spots early, hitting outside jumpers off of the pick and roll.

The Warriors went tit-for-tat with the Lakers in the early minutes of the second quarter. Golden State tied the game at 30-30 on a Moody jumper with 7:05 left in the second. The Lakers went on a 19-7 run to end the second quarter to take a 49-37 lead at the half. 

After coming out of halftime, the Lakers took it to the home team. Los Angeles got out on the fast break early and often, scoring 13 points in transition in the third quarter.

A Cole Swider 3-pointer at the 7:46 mark of the third quarter gave the Lakers a 16-point lead, shifting the momentum as the Warriors were forced to call a timeout. 

Golden State could not replicate their early-game shot-making, and their cold stretch in the third quarter cost them. The Lakers cruised to victory in the fourth and came out with a comfortable win.

Moody’s comeback pumped up the crowd even though he posted a minus-24 on the floor, the worst of any Warriors player. He was the Warriors primary ball handler and struggled at times to keep his dribble alive.

Though he did not have his best game, the Warriors coaching staff wanted to help Moody work on skills that are going to be needed when he is anticipated to become a regular in Steve Kerr’s rotation next year.

Golden State Summer League head coach Seth Cooper said:

I think it’s really good for his development … I think it’s good for Moses to have to make plays and get the ball in pick and roll situations and really expand his game.”

Moody said he is using this opportunity in the summer league to improve his decision making and facilitating skills on the floor:

A lot of attention and a lot of focus is on me to score and all that … I can help facilitate by making the right basketball play when I’m out there.”

Quinones was a bright spot for the Warriors offensively. He had an efficient night scoring the ball and was more aggressive today than yesterday against the Sacramento Kings. 

The undrafted rookie out of Memphis signed a two-way contract with the Warriors on June 23. The Golden State coaching staff made sure to give Quinones reps as the primary ball handler in pick and roll situations and he looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands in Sunday’s game.

Quinones said the increased amount of reps has helped him get more comfortable out on the floor:

I got more comfortable with the game and I’m starting to know my spots and my reads when I’m out there on the floor … I’m starting to get more comfortable with my teammates as well.”

The Warriors are using the California Classic to help develop players who will see limited minutes when the team heads to Vegas. 

Cooper said that the plan will be to get James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Patrick Baldwin Jr. on the floor in Las Vegas starting July 7:

I don’t know how many guys are on the full roster, but we have a ton of guys… So it’s really hard to get all these guys minutes knowing that some of them want to see them play a certain amount of minutes. … We’re going to kind of just keep bouncing around minutes for guys and mix it up in our workouts.”

Up Next

The Warriors got a break Monday and will come back to play on Tuesday for their final matchup in the California Classic against the Miami Heat. The Heat lost their game on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings 81-64.

Notes

Former Minnesota guard Payton Willis showed offensive flashes as he finished the game with 11 points while going 2-for-3 from the 3-point line.