Pistons Notes: Huerter, Duren, Jenkins, Thompson
Kevin Huerter didn’t play much for the Pistons in the first month after he was acquired in a deadline trade with Chicago, but he has been showing recently why the team wanted him, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link).
The eighth-year wing made his first start as a Piston on Thursday with Duncan Robinson (right hip soreness) out, and he delivered 22 points (on 9-of-14 shooting), three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 34 minutes, which is by far the most he’s played in a game with Detroit (his previous high was 26).
“Kev’s nice, man,” said Jalen Duren. “Just playing against him over the last few years, I’d seen him as just a shooter. Him being here these last couple of weeks, I see he has a lot more to his game.
“He’s a guy who can, if you run him off the line he can get in the paint, make plays, finish. He’s meshed really well with the guys. Just in the locker room, as a teammate, he’s been really cool. I’m excited, man. I’m excited for what he can bring to the team and continue to grow with him.”
It took a while for Huerter to adjust to the Pistons and it remains to be seen how much he’ll play in the playoffs. But the impending free agent is making a case for a postseason rotation spot, according to Sankofa, who points to Huerter’s decision-making as one area in which he excels.
“That’s my biggest strength,” Huerter said. “Playing offensively, ball moves side to side, I’m able to play off of closeouts and get downhill, find guys and then we have Cade (Cunningham) who’s been out a couple of games. There’s been more of an emphasis on playing side to side and guys using the rotations of defenses to help create things.
“JD’s held it down every game inside. Everybody else seems to be pitching in where they can to fill the gaps.”
Here’s more on the Pistons, who are currently the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53-20 record:
- In addition to Cunningham (collapsed left lung) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain), who are out indefinitely, the Pistons were also playing without Robinson and Caris LeVert (right knee soreness) on Thursday. While the team knows it can’t replace all Cunningham provides offensively, Duren, Huerter and Daniss Jenkins are among the players who have stepped in his absence, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Duren is averaging 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per game in the five contests since Cunningham went down with the injury, while Jenkins is putting up 19.8 PPG, 8.0 APG and 3.6 RPG in 37.8 MPG over that same span, Patterson notes.
- Detroit has been thrilled with several aspects of Duren’s development this season, Patterson writes. The 22-year-old center, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, had another huge game on Thursday, contributing 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 31 minutes. His seven assists represented a new season high and tied a career high. “It’s untapped potential being able to use him as a hub, put the ball in his hands and let him make plays,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The growth he’s shown this year offensively has been through the charts. From reading coverages, reading rotations, being able to make the right read at full speed — he’s just having a phenomenal year and continuing to get better right in front of us.”
- After Thursday’s victory, Duren referred to Ausar Thompson as the “Defensive Player of the Year,” according to Sankofa (Twitter link), while Bickerstaff compared the third-year forward to a player who once won the award. “He reminds me a lot, and it may look a bit different, of how Ron Artest used to be when he would defend,” Bickerstaff said (Twitter link via Patterson). “That type of physicality, the feet, the hands, being able to be so disruptive. … I don’t think there’s many guys who can do what Ausar does.”
Nine NBA Players Are On Active 10-Day Contracts
A 10-day deal allows a club to temporarily add a player to its 15-man roster without any commitments beyond those 10 days. January 5 is when teams can start signing players to typical 10-day contracts, but 10-day deals using the hardship exception can be signed at any time during the season.
Late in the regular season is typically when we see the highest volume of players signing 10-day contracts. There are a number of seasons for that, but it often involves some combination of the following: teams looking to maximize roster and financial flexibility; evaluating young players and/or veterans for back-end roster spots; and clubs hit hard by injuries who need temporary replacements.
As our tracker shows, there are currently nine players on active 10-day contracts around the the NBA.
- Charles Bassey, Boston Celtics
- Malachi Smith, Brooklyn Nets
- Omer Yurtseven, Golden State Warriors
- Tyler Burton, Memphis Grizzlies
- DeJon Jarreau, Memphis Grizzlies
- DaQuan Jeffries, Sacramento Kings
- Markelle Fultz, Toronto Raptors
- Kennedy Chandler, Utah Jazz
- Bez Mbeng, Utah Jazz
Six of those nine players (Bassey, Smith, Yurtseven, Burton, Jarreau and Mbeng) are on their second 10-day deals with their respective teams. Each of those clubs will have to decide at the expiration of the 10-day agreement whether it wants to re-sign those players to rest-of-season or multiyear deals or let them walk.
While a 10-day contract is a form of standard contract, there are some differences between the two. For example, players on expiring standard contracts don’t become free agents until June 30, but 10-day players immediately become unrestricted free agents when their contracts end.
Teams have the right to terminate 10-day contracts early to accommodate another roster move, and that does happen occasionally — Utah ended Mo Bamba‘s second 10-day deal early a couple weeks ago due to an illness.
You can read more details about 10-day contracts in our glossary entry, while the the salary breakdown for 10-day deals in 2025/26 can be found right here.
Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Melton, Santos, More
Veteran center Kristaps Porzingis will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then. As Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, the Warriors have been using the past several weeks to evaluate the Latvian big man, while Porzingis has been considering whether he’d like to remain with the team beyond this season.
According to Poole, early indications suggest Porzingis has enjoyed his time with the organization — he has particularly singled out Rick Celebrini, Golden State’s director of sports medicine and performance. That’s noteworthy, given all of Porzingis health issues the past couple years and throughout his career.
“Rick’s amazing,” Porzingis said Thursday after practice. “Rick is the GOAT, man. Really. I’m very happy with these guys, and I’m sure they will keep me on the same path.”
Porzingis has appeared in seven of the Warriors’ last nine games and thinks he’s trending toward being able to play in back-to-backs, Poole notes. The team has two back-to-backs (April 1-2 and April 9-10) remaining this season.
“I think it’s a conversation,” Porzingis said. “I don’t know yet if I will get the chance, but maybe. Maybe. Doing pretty good and recovering well. I’m still not playing super-high minutes, obviously, but the better I feel, the better I start to look. I’ll probably earn more minutes and then probably after that, the next step is to get a chance on a back-to-back. That’s what I’m working towards.”
Porzingis has also spoken glowingly about the chance to play with Stephen Curry, Poole adds, but that has yet to come to fruition due to the 12-time All-Star guard’s ongoing knee injury, which has kept him sidelined since late January.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- De’Anthony Melton is another potential free agent — he holds a $3.5MM player option for next season. The 27-year-old combo guard suggested on Thursday that he’s likely to turn down that option, as Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I’ve been in this league a decent amount of time,” Melton said on 95.7 The Game’s Steiny and Guru show. “So, eight years is a lot of time. I’ve put in a lot of time and effort and work into this. I think that should be rewarded and I think, for anybody, you put in that much time, effort, work and you’ve seen the results and you’ve seen how impactful you are and what you have done, like I said, you want to be rewarded for that. So, whatever comes with it, comes with it, but end of the day you want to get rewarded for your services.” The Warriors will only have Melton’s Non-Bird rights, which could make it difficult for the team to re-sign him.
- Gui Santos‘ importance to the Warriors increased when Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL in January. The Brazilian forward has become even more vital in the wake of Moses Moody‘s torn patellar tendon, as Santos is the only real wing left on Golden State’s roster, observes Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard. The 23-year-old, who scored a career-high 31 points in Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn, is looking like a bargain on the three-year, $15MM extension he signed at the end of February, says Emerman.
- Getting to the free throw line more often will be important down the stretch with the Warriors shorthanded, and Porzingis can help in that area with his ability to post up smaller defenders, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “It does slow the game down. But sometimes that’s what we need, especially with me on the floor,” Porzingis said. “I feel like that’s an advantage we can get, we can generate.”
Nuggets Notes: Murray, Jokic Watson, Johnson, Bench
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic put up historic numbers in Wednesday’s win over Dallas, writes Michael Kelly of The Associated Press. On the second night of a road-home back-to-back, Murray had a season-high 53 points (on 19-of-28 shooting) and Jokic had 23 points, 21 rebounds and 19 assists.
According to Kelly, the Nuggets are the first team in NBA history to have one player score 50-plus points and another record at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in the same game.
“Fifty-three from your point guard and 23, 21, 19 from your center. Just outrageous numbers from the best tandem in the NBA,” head coach David Adelman said. “They really are the history book of this franchise when it comes to the longevity together, and also the playoffs and all these wars they’ve been through in a basketball sense, it’s just super special.”
Jokic, who has a league-high 30 triple-doubles, had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists in Tuesdays win at Phoenix. He’s currently leading the NBA in both rebounds (12.8) and assists (10.8) per game.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Peyton Watson has improved his play-making in his fourth season ahead of restricted free agency this summer, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. In his first two games back after missing several weeks because of a hamstring strain, Watson has averaged 17.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.0 APG (zero turnovers) on .565/.370/.750 shooting in 21.5 MPG. “It starts with establishing your aggression offensively, though. I think that every team in the NBA has to know that I’m a big threat, that if they don’t send multiple guys at me, I’m going to get going, and I’m going to be effective. When they start to do that and make those adjustments, it’s all about me seeing the next defender and making that play ahead of me,” Watson said. “For me, right now, (it’s) just establishing myself as a scorer and as an offensive presence. I think that’s doing a lot for our team.”
- Forward Cameron Johnson and the rest of Denver’s starters seem to be clicking at the right time, Benedetto writes in another story. Johnson is averaging 12.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 2.6 on .524/.466/.800 shooting splits in 12 games this month. “When we get going offensively, we’re really, really tough to stop. Now, we’ve got to match that with defensive intensity, transition defense, hitting the boards, boxing teams out,” Johnson said. “(There’s) a lot of room for us to grow defensively and little ins and outs of the game. If we continue to improve on those areas, I think the ceiling for this team is extremely high, so it’s encouraging.”
- Adelman recently made a significant change to the Nuggets’ rotation, per Benedetto. Veteran center Jonas Valanciunas has been a DNP-CD each of the past four games, with Adelman instead going with a small-ball bench unit featuring Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Spencer Jones and Watson alongside Murray. “It just gives us another dimension for this team to deploy whenever we want,” Jones said. “It definitely allows us to switch on ball, which makes a lot of our defenders a lot more aggressive. Obviously, we have a lot of good defenders out there, so we’re able to pick pockets, get steals, get some easy runouts and apply more pressure.”
Southwest Notes: Fox, Murphy, Alexander, Kyrie
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently praised Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox for being willing to sacrifice his individual statistics in pursuit of the team’s goals, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio-Express News.
“I think you have to really commend Fox,” Spoelstra said before Monday’s game in Miami. “He’s been a 25-plus point scorer for four straight years, and then sacrificing to win, he’s averaging 19 a game. People say, ‘Oh, you do whatever it takes to win.’ But I don’t know a lot of players who want to sign up and have their scoring average drop by seven and be great with it.”
For his part, Fox said the scoring dip was by design.
“I knew what I was signing up for,” Fox told the San Antonio Express-News. “Ultimately, I wanted to come and win a championship, and this is definitely the best place for it.”
We have more from the Southwest:
- After initially being listed as questionable, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III was ruled out of Thursday’s contest in Detroit due to a right ankle sprain, the team announced (via Twitter). New Orleans lost its third straight game, with all three defeats coming against top Eastern Conference teams, notes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “Defensively, we just had no hold on them,” interim head coach James Borrego said. “We could not gain any traction defensively. Other than the run at the end of the third quarter and early fourth, we just couldn’t string enough defensive possessions together.”
- Trey Alexander, who is on a two-way contract with the Pelicans, is the G League’s latest Player of the Week, the NBA announced on Tuesday (Twitter link). The second-year guard has only made five NBA appearances this season, but he had a huge week for the Birmingham Squadron, putting up 36.7 PPG and 10.0 APG in leading the team to a 3-0 record.
- The Mavericks have been involved in a league-high 42 “clutch” games this season, defined as a game in which the score is within five points in the final five minutes. However, they have gone just 15-27 in those contests, and have particularly struggled on the offensive end. Head coach Jason Kidd is confident Kyrie Irving will help Dallas improve its record in clutch games when he returns to action in 2026/27, per Christian Clark of The Athletic. “The offensive end of the ball, it will help in all categories,” Kidd said. “Shooting. Scoring. And the biggest (thing) is, you have a closer. A born closer.”
Lakers Notes: Luka, Hachimura, Ayton, Smart, Bronny, LeBron
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic might miss Friday’s game against Brooklyn — he has been listed as questionable due to left hamstring soreness, per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Doncic has appeared in 61 of the Lakers’ 73 games thus far in 2025/26. He needs to play 20-plus minutes in four of the team’s final nine games to qualify for major postseason awards like MVP and All-NBA.
It’s a little concerning that Doncic is dealing with another soft-tissue injury, but the fact that the 27-year-old is listed as questionable instead of out — and that he’s dealing with soreness and not a strain — suggests it may not be a serious issue. Additionally, the Nets have lost nine straight games and 19 of their past 21, so if Doncic has to miss a game, Friday’s contest may be the right one to sit out.
While Doncic was downgraded to questionable after playing in 19 straight games, the opposite is true for Rui Hachimura, who was upgraded to questionable after missing the last two games due to a right calf injury.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Starting center Deandre Ayton is not on tomorrow’s injury report after he sat out Wednesday’s win at Indiana due to a back issue, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN (via Twitter). Fellow starter Marcus Smart will miss his third consecutive game due to a right ankle contusion.
- Head coach JJ Redick and Austin Reaves discussed Smart’s impact on the Lakers following Monday’s loss in Detroit, per Benjamin Royer of The Southern California News Group. Reaves praised Smart’s unselfishness, defense and intensity, referring to the 12-year veteran as the team’s “glue guy.” Redick said Los Angeles is focused on being as healthy as possible entering the playoffs, Royer adds. “That’s important for us, that we can get healthy and we can play our rotation,” Redick said Monday night. “Post-Luke (Kennard) trade, I think when all nine guys have played, we’ve been a good basketball team. … You need Smart for his ball-handling, you need Smart for his defense, you need Rui for his shooting. Those pieces are important to complement everybody. And you know, we need to finish the season strong, but we also need to finish the season healthy.”
- With Smart, Hachimura and Ayton out on Wednesday, reserve Bronny James got a chance to play rotation minutes and contributed four points, two steals, one block, one rebound and one assist in 13 minutes. The second-year guard, who is having a strong regular season in the G League with South Bay, has been a standout in stay-ready games for several weeks, Redick said after the victory (story via Royer). James also played alongside his father LeBron James for just the second time this season. “I’m not really thinking about it,” Bronny said. “Just thinking about what I can do to impact the game and pull out a win. I’ve been around him and basketball at the same time for a while now, so it’s not that special. The first couple times were of course, but it’s my second year now. And I’m just trying to prove myself and get better as a player.”
- While Bronny downplayed the moment, LeBron relished it, saying he was “super proud” of his son, according to Woike of The Athletic. Bronny’s suffered cardiac arrest during a July 2023 workout with USC, but he has gradually rebuilt his confidence the past few years after the life-altering incident. “Real, meaningful minutes. I couldn’t dream of better. I couldn’t dream of something better than that. Just couldn’t,” LeBron told The Athletic. “For him to go out and, you know, I mean obviously he’s… he’s shown over this — almost two years, year and a half — his progression. And why he belongs in this league. And what he can do in this league. So, for the coaching staff to trust him tonight, and for him to have significant playing time and make … make plays — and for me to be out there on the floor with him — that’s … I couldn’t, I couldn’t dream of a better feeling than that. I could not.”
Clippers Notes: Garland, Kawhi, Jackson, Zubac
The Clippers won their third straight game on Wednesday in Inglewood, defeating another playoff hopeful in Toronto by 25 points, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Los Angeles is currently three games behind Phoenix for the No. 7 seed in the West and a half-game ahead of No. 9 Portland.
Trade acquisition Darius Garland continued his strong recent play, putting up 24 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), six assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block in 30 minutes. The two-time All-Star point guard has been on fire since he made his Clippers debut on March 2, averaging 21.1 points, 6.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals on .506/.512/.826 shooting splits in 11 games (27.7 minutes per contest).
“You see that he’s enjoying the game and he’s just loving it,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I’ve played with guys like that before and like I said, he’s doing a great job, man. It’s when your hard work pays off, you make one of those shots or you’re just doing good, the excitement comes out of you. So yeah, I’m enjoying it and playing with him.”
Here’s more on the Clips:
- As Carr writes, Garland’s ability to stretch the floor with deep shooting range has created easier looks for his teammates, including Leonard, who finished with 27 points, six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes. The 34-year-old forward has now scored 20-plus points in 49 straight games, which he attributes to his consistency. “It’s everything,” Leonard said. “That’s how you build championship habits. It’s just coming in every night, playing with the consistent mindset of being in attack mode and wanting to defend. And you want your team to play that way as well. So, I just build off of just trying to win really more than anything because the numbers will change.”
- Fifth-year center Isaiah Jackson was something of an afterthought in last month’s trade that sent Ivica Zubac to Indiana, and he was initially the Clippers’ third-string center. However, as Carr writes in another story, Jackson has been the team’s primary backup five since rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser suffered a season-ending foot injury, and the former Kentucky big man has impressed head coach Tyronn Lue. “He’s been really good,” Lue said of Jackson. “I think rebounding the basketball, his ability to switch one through five on the floor has been really good for us. “(As well as) his ability to run the floor, his offensive rebounds, lob dunks, and being able to post smaller guys when they try to switch. He’s been able to post smaller guys they’ve been throwing at him, and he’s been able to take advantage around the rim.”
- In an interview with Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, Zubac discussed his time with the Clippers, a tenure which covered parts of eight seasons. Zubac went through a gamut of emotions the week of the deadline — he became a father two days prior to being traded. “It was tough when (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank called me to let me know that it was happening and then just kind of being on the phone with people from the Pacers and going through all that,” Zubac said. “Then it hit me that the (Clippers) were going on a trip and it’d be good to go over there so I called Lawrence, he said that anytime I wanted to come by, I’m free to come by. So I went over there, caught a lot of people before they left for the trip and yeah we sat there for five, six hours, I don’t even know, but it just talked about memories and all the stuff that we did and what we went through and a lot of people cried. I cried. It was tough, man. It was tough. You always think it could happen — the trades and stuff — but you never really expect it, you don’t want it to happen. So once it happened, yeah, it was tough.” Injured star Tyrese Haliburton was among the Pacers pushing behind the scenes to acquire Zubac, league sources tell ClutchPoints.
Jarrett Allen (Knee) Upgraded To Questionable For Friday
The Cavaliers could have their starting center back for Friday’s rematch against the Heat, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who tweets that Jarrett Allen has been upgraded to questionable.
A one-time All-Star, Allen has been sidelined March 3, when he injured his knee vs. Detroit. His official injury designation is right knee tendonitis, an issue which has prevented him from playing Cleveland’s last 10 games.
Allen, whose name popped up in several trade rumors prior to last month’s deadline, had been playing his best basketball of the season in the weeks leading up to his right knee injury, averaging 21.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in just 28.9 minutes per game across 14 appearances. He shot 72.4% from the field over that span.
The Cavs have gone 12-10 this season without Allen, including 6-4 over the past 10 games, compared to a 33-18 record when the 27-year-old is in the lineup. He missed time early in the season due to a fractured left ring finger and then a right finger sprain.
Allen is earning $20MM this season before his three-year, $90MM extension begins in 2026/27.
While it’s possible Allen could return to action on Friday, the Cavaliers will still be without Craig Porter Jr. (left groin strain), Jaylon Tyson (bone bruise in left great toe) and Dean Wade (right ankle sprain), Chiang notes.
Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Quickley, Walter, Clarkson
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum played a season-high 35 minutes — including the entire fourth quarter — in Wednesday’s victory over Oklahoma City, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. Tatum, who finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists (five turnovers), three steals, was making his ninth appearance in 2025/26 after missing most of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon.
“It definitely feels different,” Tatum said. “Just from the standpoint, it’s been a while since I’ve been in certain moments. And sometimes the best moments when I don’t have a chance to think, when I’ve just got to react and I got to move, whether it’s coming off a ball screen or on a close out or you get a rebound and you’ve just got to take off with the ball. And it will be moments like that and afterwards I’d be like, ‘All right, that felt good. That felt normal.’
“So these are things you can’t simulate in workouts or scrimmages or things like that. Just got to be in the moment. So just from the standpoint, it just feels like it’s been a while and each game I kind of surprise myself with encouraging things, certain plays that I just tally up in my head.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley will miss his third consecutive contest on Friday when the Raptors face New Orleans, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Quickley, 26, is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Second-year guard Jamal Shead has started the past two games with Quickley out.
- In 17 games since the All-Star break, Ja’Kobe Walter is shooting 48.6% from long distance while playing strong defense, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who says the second-year wing seems primed to deliver a breakout performance in the playoffs — assuming the Raptors can make it in. “He’s shooting at an insane rate. He’s not gonna shoot like that forever,” RJ Barrett said. “But defensively, the things he’s doing every single night with steals and deflections (are important). And then on offense, he’s making the shots, but he’s just making the right plays. He’s taking the right shots. He plays like a player way above his years already.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson was out of the Knicks‘ rotation for a prolonged stretch earlier this season, but he wasn’t discouraged by the lack of minutes and kept working until his next opportunity arose, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). Clarkson has not only provided his typical scoring off the bench over the past couple weeks, he’s also been a play-maker and has improved defensively as well, Popper notes. “Yeah, for sure,” Clarkson said. “I mean, being able to get comfortable. I know everybody wanted it to click like immediately when I got here. But, you know, I’ve got to feel out a new coach, new system and everything, so, I’m getting a chance to watch the D-N-P’s and learn. It was pretty big for me and you know I continue to stay ready and just kept playing and figuring stuff out.”
Warriors’ Moses Moody Suffers Left Leg Injury, Will Undergo MRI
12:35 am: Moody will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to the Warriors (Twitter link via Friedell).
11:48 pm: Warriors wing Moses Moody appeared to suffer a major left leg injury with 1:12 remaining in overtime during Monday’s win in Dallas (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area).
After stealing the ball from Cooper Flagg, Moody dribbled down the court and planted for a breakaway dunk. He never made it all the way up for the dunk, as his left leg appeared to buckle. Moody immediately grabbed at his left leg and eventually had to be helped off the court on a stretcher, tweets Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
Moody underwent X-rays after the game ended, according to Nick Fridell of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is now wearing a sizeable brace on his knee, Friedell adds (via Twitter).
“We don’t know what it is, but it sure looked bad,” said head coach Steve Kerr.
Moody had an impressive outing leading up to the non-contact injury, recording 23 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in 34 minutes. It was the fifth-year wing’s first game back after he missed 10 consecutive contests due to a right wrist sprain.
The 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Moody had emerged as a rotation mainstay for Golden State in 2025/26. In 59 appearances leading into Monday, including 48 starts, he had averaged 11.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per contest while shooting a career-high 40.2% from three-point range.
Any type of significant injury to Moody would be devastating to the Warriors’ postseason chances. They’re essentially locked into the play-in tournament and are trying to move back up to the No. 8 seed so they have two chances to advance to the playoffs.
The Warriors have been playing without their two best players for the past two months. Jimmy Butler suffered a torn right ACL on January 19, while Stephen Curry has been out since January 30 due to patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee. Curry’s ailment is more commonly known as runner’s knee.