Steph Curry gave credit to LeBron James who scored a season-high 56 points in the Lakers’ win over the Warriors. Curry also pointed out Golden State’s numerous “self-inflicted wounds.”
LOS ANGELES -- Klay Thompson is going through it right now.
He came out of the NBA All-Star break and looked rejuvenated against a lowly Portland Trail Blazers team, scoring 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and went 4-for-7 on 3-point attempts. But then an undisclosed illness kept him out the next two games, and his shot has been way off over the last two games, to put it lightly.
In those two games, both lossses, Klay has combined to score 23 points while shooting 9-for-30 (30 percent) from the field and 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long distance. Still, his picturesque shot remains the gold standard around the league and throughout basketball history.
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That's especially true for Warriors rookie Moses Moody.
"Me and coach Jama [Mahlalela] have been putting a lot of time in, tweaking a little bit with my shot," Moody said Sunday at Warriors practice. "I've been watching a lot of Klay, seeing some of the stuff that I like from his shots. Taking that, applying some parts and pieces to it and really just studying like that.
"Klay's been a blueprint for me when it comes to shooting, when it comes to that part of the game."
The hard work and film study sessions of his star teammate's jumper have turned into a leap in playing time for the rookie, and Moody can't miss. Literally.
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Moody over his last three games has made 11 straight shots, including five straight 3-pointers. His streak of 11 made shots in a row is the longest by a Warriors rookie since 1997-98, when play-by-play was first recorded, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It also is the longest by a Warriors player this season, matching Andrew Wiggins when he did so in November.
After making both of his shots while playing seven minutes in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves to open March, Moody then saw his role increase two nights later in Dallas. Again, he had to wait his turn though. He went scoreless in the first half while playing a little under six minutes and then sat the entire third quarter. Moody then played 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, led both teams with 13 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 while making all three of his 3-point attempts.
So, what has been the biggest difference for Moody? As he watches Klay as close as possible, it all starts with the hips and moves to his right elbow and up to his shoulders.
"A lot," Moody said when asked what part of Thompson's shot he tries to emulate. "He's balanced on his shot. His feet sometimes don't really matter. They're angled a little bit, but from his hip to his shoulders it's always squared up to the basket. His elbow, that's the main thing that I have to figure out.
"When I square my shoulders, it doesn't come off my hand like I want it to. But then watching him ... it's kind of hard to explain. He's aligned like that, his shoulders are lined up and it's the release that makes it possible to have your elbow squared, come off the right way off your fingers and have your shoulders squared up. It's kind of hard to explain.
"That was the key. That's what I like about his shot and what I wanted to work on."
As he explained the keys to his improvements Sunday, Moody sat at the podium at the LA Clippers' practice facility and motioned a shot as he talked, emphasizing the importance of his right elbow staying tight and not flaring out.
From his toes to his nose, it doesn't get much more pure than this corner three he splashed against the Lakers.
Poetry in (slow) motion.
Through Moody's first 26 NBA games, he shot 12.1 percent from beyond the arc, draining just four of his first 33 attempts. Since Jan. 31, when he was given over 24 minutes of action against the Houston Rockets, Moody has made 51.2 percent on 3-point attempts, going 21-for-41. That's in a 12-game span where he started five games and averaged 17.7 minutes per game.
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The rookie should get another big opportunity Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, whether he's starting or coming off the bench. With Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Thompson all out, along with the injured trio of Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman, Moody's minutes should skyrocket and there's a good chance he makes his seventh career start for Golden State.
He thrived in the G League, averaging 31.8 points in eight games with Santa Cruz. Moody's here to stay, for now and the foreseeable future. Coach Steve Kerr has made it clear the 19-year-old will be part of the playoff rotation, and even compared him to Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns' two-way star who is six years older than Moody, on a recent episode of Dubs Talk with NBC Sports Bay Area's Grant Liffmann.
Since the start of February, Klay has gone cold with the hopes he finds his form Tuesday night against the Clippers. He also has been the catalyst to Moody catching fire and looking more and more like the player the Warriors thanked the Basketball Gods for still being available at the end of the lottery in last year's draft.
Hips, elbows, shoulders and swish. The Moses Moody Show has just begun.
