Kuminga of the Warriors, Moody Torch G League, show star potential

To say the Golden State Warriors are spoiled for choice this season might actually be an understatement.

Rookies Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga offered more evidence to support the idea on Wednesday night, December 8, while playing for the team's G League affiliate. Moody and Kuminga combined for 62 total points to lead the Santa Cruz Warriors to a victory over the Agua Caliente Clippers, 122-121.

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Moody was the team's top scorer in the game, dropping 37 points, while Kuminga added 25 points to his. The type of G League performance each rookie has achieved is indicative of a player who will soon be graduating to make a big impact on the NBA courts.

The NBA G League Twitter account posted a nearly 2-minute reel of Kuminga's offensive night online Wednesday, which included a robbery that ended in a slam dunk with a backhand and open court. The game starts around the 1:13 mark in the video.

 

Kuminga's thunderous dunk, which arrived late in Quarter 3, was not an exact replica of what Moody accomplished at the start of Quarter 1. But at the very least, the two pieces followed the same pattern.

 

Moody also anticipated a pass, made a steal, then trucked down the court to finish the streak with authority at the edge. The NBA G League also tweeted a video of the game on Wednesday.

In an ideal world for rookies, they would each complete a greater portion of their early career development on an NBA field. But in what is clearly the most ideal scenario for the Golden State franchise itself, the squad roster is so deep and their level of achievement so high that there aren't always minutes to go.

 

The Warriors have played 25 games so far, going 21-4. Kuminga averaged 7.5 minutes per night appearing in 15 of those competitions, according to Basketball Reference. Most of his time on the pitch has been characterized by high level defense and high flying dunks.

 

Moody appeared in 16 regular season games for the Dubs, averaging 5.8 minutes per night. The two played in the team's game on Monday, Dec.6 against the Orlando Magic - Kuminga getting 12 minutes of action and Moody scoring 4 minutes. They were both sent back to the G League and were not on the main roster on Wednesday night against the Portland Trailblazers.

 

Ahead of Monday's game against the Magic, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr explained the logic behind Moody and Kuminga's rotation between the NBA and the G League.

 

“I think the most important thing is to get reps and understand what wins and what doesn't,” Kerr said. “They're both obviously really talented guys or they wouldn't have been drawn into the lottery. What you want from young players is recognition of winning games and repeating those types of games over and over again.

 

“The whole point of being a good team is to run over and over and try to tire a team with that run,” Kerr continued. “So recognizing that in the game is very important. It's like young NFL quarterbacks who don't return the ball. It's not taking too many risks, stuff like that. You just have to have an idea of ​​what wins at this level. It's not something you can just tell someone, they have to feel it.

 

Kuminga and Moody will both have the chance to show off what they've learned on the Warriors' upcoming five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference, as Kerr said on Wednesday that every rookie will travel with the squad. during the eight days.