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There wasn’t much to write home about regarding the Golden State Warriors‘ Saturday bout with the Raptors. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter were all back in the Bay Area, leaving a skeleton crew to get throttled in Toronto, 119-100.
There were a handful of bright spots in the contest, however. Most notably, rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga got a chance to start and play heavy minutes. As a result, the No. 7 overall pick put up a career-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting (with four three-point buckets).
Kuminga wasn’t the only Warriors rookie to raise eyebrows with their performance, though. For his part, Moses Moody — who has averaged just 6.5 minutes per appearance this season — had his best game in a Golden State uniform as well.
It was an effort that prompted Warriors coach Steve Kerr to shout him out after the contest.
Moody Hits Double Figures & Kerr Offers Him Praise
One night after logging his first career start in Beantown, Moody took things to a new level against the Raptors. In 25 minutes of play, he put up 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot, all of which were career highs.
During his post-game presser, Kerr noted that Moody has a bright future as a baller.
“Moses is going to be a really good player in this league,” Kerr said to reporters, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s got a good feel.”
Moody (and, to a lesser extent, Kuminga) finds himself in a difficult situation as a rookie on a title-contending team with incredible depth. However, the Warriors coach believes that the opportunity he has gotten to play extra minutes recently will be a boon for his development.
“These last two nights have been good for him,” Kerr said. “Just to feel the athleticism and to get reps, to figure out his own spots. Having this kind of action on tape, we’ll be able to watch film with both those guys and they’ll learn a lot.”
Meanwhile, Moody credited Kerr and his teammates for providing the motivation for his big night.
“I’m anticipating that the next one is going to fall. Coach trusts in me, my teammates trust in me and that’s what everybody’s really motivating me to do,” Moody said. “Just keeping that faith.”
Moody is currently averaging 1.9 points and one rebound per contest. He has struggled mightily as a shooter through 20 games, connecting on just 33.3% of his field-goal attempts, 16% from three-point range and 57.1% from the free-throw line.
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Kerr on His 400th Coaching Win
By beating the Celtics on Friday, Kerr was able to pick up his 400th career coaching win. However, he wasn’t looking to take much credit for the milestone after the victory. Instead, he gave it back to his players for propelling him as a coach.
“It means I’m incredibly lucky to coach a bunch of talented guys,” Kerr said, via NBC. “From my first game coaching in the NBA to now, I’ve had nothing but talented teams, and that’s just good fortune. Love coaching these guys, love being part of all this with them and very lucky.”
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