On Moses Moody ‘weaking’ his way to a strong defensive performance against Jalen Brunson

Moody did an excellent job against the Knicks’ perimeter star.

After a quintessential Moses Moody hustle play — in which he crashed the offensive boards with no one on the New York Knicks boxing him out, giving him a wide-open putback to break a 17-all deadlock in the first quarter — Moody displayed equal levels of hustle in finding the man assigned to him on defense: Knicks’ superstar guard Jalen Brunson.

Brunson is known for his combination of craft, shiftiness, and bruising style of play, all packed within a burly 6’2” frame. Moody’s three-inch height advantage and 7’1” wingspan (the same as Draymond Green) allows him to be somewhat of a foil to Brunson.

As such, when Moody hustles back to find Brunson, take note of how he positions his body as Brunson crosses half court:

With the knowledge that Brunson is left-handed, Moody positions his body in a manner as to force Brunson to primarily use his off hand — i.e., force him right. This coverage (called “weak,” or “weaking,” which is pretty self-explanatory: forcing the ball handler toward his weak hand) is very much similar and virtually identical to “ice” coverage, or forcing someone away from a screen and toward the sideline/baseline.

While “weaking” Brunson to force him to use his right hand is a viable strategy, the data suggests there isn’t any significant difference in his efficiency on drives depending on which hand he uses and/or direction he drives. Per Synergy, Brunson recorded 257 drives prior to the Golden State Warriors’ matchup with the Knicks. Of those, 140 were toward his left; he scored an even 1.000 point per possession on those drives. Meanwhile, 111 were toward his right, in which he did marginally better: 1.126 points per possession.

Only six of his total drives were down the middle, which informs the coverage Moody was playing above as well as the rest of the league. In other words, teams have been doing their best not to allow Brunson to penetrate down the middle of the lane.

Moody, therefore, was sticking to the gameplan against Brunson above, while trusting that someone behind him (Green) would be there to help and contain should Moody need it.

Even while Brunson attempts to turn the other way by switching hands, the Warriors’ collective defense (Green showing help, Buddy Hield helping the helper, and Gui Santos pinching in at the nail) presents enough of a threat for Brunson to pass out of the matchup. The possession ends on a missed Brunson three that did not give him much time to set his feet.

The final stat sheet may show that Brunson scored 25 points on decent efficiency (59.3% True Shooting — more or less on par with his career average efficiency), but the Knicks were outscored by 15 points during Brunson’s 37 minutes. While some of that may be due to lineup quirks and Brunson’s shortcomings on the other end of the floor, Moody’s peskiness in making Brunson work for his shots definitely played a non-insignificant role.

On a team that, on paper, had concerns in terms of point-of-attack defense after Andrew Wiggins’ departure, Moody filled that role quite capably against Brunson. Even when Moody doesn’t get to “weak” Brunson toward his right hand in the possession below, he had enough screen-navigation chops to stay attached to Brunson over a screen, allow help to come from the backline, and ultimately force him into a turnover:

“Weaking” and/or “icing” Brunson served a double purpose. It was more than just forcing Brunson sideline or toward his weak hand — it was to prevent Brunson from getting his preferred matchups on switch-hunting exploits.

Which is why, on multiple occasions, whoever Steph Curry was guarding was brought over to set a screen for Brunson in an effort to coax a switch. Moody, however, wasn’t about to let his veteran get hunted. When Mikal Bridges comes over to set a screen and bring Curry to the action, Moody immediately places himself between Brunson and the screen:

Moody’s preemptive “ice” is effectively preventative, in that it allows Curry to not only stay on Bridges — he doesn’t have to hedge and jump out toward Brunson, allowing the rest of the Warriors defenders to stay home and out of rotation. Moody allows Brunson to drive along the baseline and toward Green, with Jimmy Butler pinching in from the strong-side corner (risky, with OG Anunoby lurking one pass away) and Brandin Podziemski helping the helper by sinking in against Mitchell Robinson and sagging off of perpetual non-threat from the perimeter Josh Hart.

Perhaps the most important phrase pertaining to star-level creators in the NBA — but not one that is commonly known among mainstream circles — is “event creation.” That is, arguably the most important skill that a star has on a team is being able to make something happen, a literal event that impacts possessions. For the Warriors, that often takes the form of Curry creating advantages through drawing multiple bodies on offense, or Green constantly rotating and shifting between multiple roles on defense that result in a momentum-shifting stop.

Brunson fulfills that role on offense for the Knicks. Moody made it his mission to minimize Brunson’s ability to create an event in the half court. On the possession below, Moody delays Brunson with his ball pressure, navigates the screen effectively, forces Brunson to have to give the ball to Bridges, and switches onto Bridges on the drive. Ultimately, the shot created by the Knicks is a corner three from Hart — a low-volume left-corner shooter who averages a measly 23.1% from that spot.

It was by no coincidence that the Warriors outscored the Knicks by 21 points in Moody’s 26.5 minutes of playing time, despite only 9 points on 8 shots taken. Impact isn’t evaluated solely by the number of buckets, especially on a team that counts on Curry and Butler to create them. Moody’s job description is simple, as has his pathway toward a successful role with the Warriors. With the ability to knock down catch-and-shoot threes while tasked to guard a perimeter demon in Brunson, Moody may not stand out on most nights, nor burn as hot as someone like Curry.

But in the little things he does — in those “weaks” and “ices” he performs to puppeteer ball handlers — he burns as hot and as bright in his own special way.