How Moses Moody became the Warriors’ go-to player for a pivotal defensive role

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Part of Jerry Stackhouse’s defensive philosophy, which he’s been drilling into the Golden State Warriors, is higher pick-up points. It’s a mentality as much as a tactic.

It’s also risky. A higher pick-up point — the defender engaging an offensive player further from the basket — encourages the ballhandler to drive. And if you get beat, since the Warriors don’t have a true rim protector in the middle, the likelihood of getting scored on increases. Blow-bys are especially damaging. So the tendency is to back up and engage the ballhandler closer to the support behind them.

But Stackhouse, a Warriors assistant coach, doesn’t like passivity on his defense. Waiting to be attacked is a reactionary posture. He wants to cause a reaction. That’s especially true since the Jimmy Butler acquisition committed the Warriors to playing small most of the time. They can’t be on their heels. Apply pressure. Go get the ball. No matter who’s got it. James Harden. Ja Morant. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Press up.

So Moses Moody did.

“And, you know, it was contentious,” Stackhouse said. “At first, guys were like, ‘Man, it’s too high. Ja and those guys just going to run past us.’ But at some point, we’ve got to stand our ground. And I think Mo really embraced it.”

A fourth-year vet with a roller-coaster career, Moody found footing in the Warriors’ rotation by adopting this mindset. By embracing the defensive island. An improbable twist in his evolution.

He’s now the head of the snake in the Golden State defense. He’s the preferred antagonist to the league’s best point guards.

His first three seasons in the league saw inconsistent minutes because, in part, his defense left the coaches wanting. He was used for his shooting threat, to give the Warriors space, and his propensity for hustle. But his defensive limitations were one of the main reasons he didn’t have a consistent role.

“I can’t say I envisioned this happening,” Moody says of his newfound role as the Warriors’ top option to defend opposing point guards. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

Moody — at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds — has never been viewed as an exceptional athlete, not enough to draw the most difficult matchups. His lateral movement didn’t allow him to stay in front of the NBA’s speedy and shifty guards. He was kept from those types. Instead, forwards, even those with bigger builds, became his preferred assignments.

Now, Moody is the one the defense throws at opposing point guards. He’s the first wave of the discomfort they hope to impart. Taunting with his encroachment. Imposing with his physicality.

“I can’t say I envisioned this happening,” Moody said with a smile after chasing around Morant for 30-plus minutes in Tuesday’s Play-In Tournament win over Memphis.

How is this happening?

Moody compensates for whatever lateral quickness he lacks by employing his strength and 7-foot-1 wingspan. The Warriors have honed his technique to take away the space between him and the ballhandler while still being hard to get around.

He no longer leans forward when he guards. He spreads his arms out more often, instead of the arm-bar. He puts his weight onto the often-lighter guard.

And the activator of all these elements is aggressiveness. Moody isn’t worried about getting beat. He’s focused on dictating.

All last season, he worked with assistant coach Kris Weems. They studied player tendencies, worked on timing the dribble of ballhandlers and how Moody can take advantage of his length. Weems taught Moody a tactic he learned from Wes Unseld Jr. He called it “tactile touch.”

Hit the ballhandler on the left shoulder. Tap his right elbow. Swipe at the ball. Tap his hip. Hit his left shoulder. Swipe at the ball. Swipe at the ball again.

Every touch forces the ballhandler to adjust. Make him pivot. Make him switch hands. Make him turn his back. Put him on the defensive.

“Making the guy move the ball around,” Weems said, “and feel uncomfortable. I think that’s what Moses does now, really well. … And then on the dribble, he’s learned how to time guys. I’ma measure their dribble and figure out how to get my hands on the ball. And he’s carried over some of that stuff in terms of being really aware of how guys are going to attack you and then learn how to use his length.”

Moody putting it all together has been a boon to the Warriors’ defense. After the trade to acquire Butler, Moody’s 109 deflections were the fourth-most in the NBA behind Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels (156), Sacramento’s Keon Ellis (115) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kris Dunn (112) — all reputed defensive specialists. From Feb. 8 on, the Warriors led the NBA in steals and had five players totaling at least 30 — Draymond Green (59), Butler (50), Moody (38), Stephen Curry (35) and Brandin Podziemski (32).

As odd as it seems, Stackhouse said a higher point of attack can actually help prevent getting beat off the dribble. It takes away the runway for the ballhandler, preventing players like Morant from building steam on their drives.

Also, Moody isn’t slow. His agility holds up as he fights over screens and “rides the drive” as Stackhouse calls it — flanking a penetrator all the way to the cup.

In Warriors tradition, defending opposing point guards is a valuable role as it supports Curry, preserving him for the heroics they’ll surely need in the playoffs. This role also makes the player the face of the Warriors’ aggression on defense.

Klay Thompson built a Hall of Fame career hounding the best point guards. The Warriors had an ideal tip-of-the-spear in Andrew Wiggins.

Both are now gone, and the Warriors aren’t exactly stocked with elite on-ball defenders. Green and Butler are good in man-to-man defense, but they’re forwards who tend to set up closer to the paint — and their help defense is too vital for such an exclusive task. Gary Payton II is one of the best in the NBA at guarding the ball, but he isn’t a regular starter. And with Green and Butler anchoring the back of the defense, the Warriors need a shooter on the floor with them.

Moody figuring this out is clutch. He shot a career-best 37.4 percent from 3, high enough to make the scouting report and trustworthy enough to want him taking open 3s. That he can also now handle this pivotal assignment makes him invaluable.

His conviction shows up in his disposition. Moody is a quiet fellow. But when he’s hawking the ball, the swagger comes out.

In the final seconds of the first half against Memphis, Morant hunted for an opening. But Moody got a deflection that stymied Morant’s rhythm. He picked up the ball and, with time fleeting, tried to get off a flip shot in the lane. But Moody, smothering him the whole way, easily swatted away the feeble attempt.

Moody turned to the Warriors’ bench and did what you don’t see from him often. He scowled as he faced down the Warriors’ animated bench, celebrating his stop. Moody nodded his head up and down as he absorbed the adoration.

“He thinks he’s good,” Stackhouse said, a smile breaking across his face. “And that’s all you want.”

(Top photo of Moses Moody during Tuesday’s Play-In Tournament game against Memphis: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

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