Moses Moody

Kerr admits removing Moody from Warriors-Kings was ‘terrible' choice

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Steve Kerr knows he didn't have his best game as a coach Tuesday night in the Warriors' 124-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

He admitted exactly that the next day during a conversation on 95.7 The Game's "Willard & Dibs," and his self-assessment partly was inspired by how he handled guard Moses Moody's minutes in the defeat.

"I should have left Moses in the game," Kerr said Wednesday. "Moses hits three 3s and he's rolling, and we decided -- we kind of overthought it."

Kerr replaced a red-hot Moody with Andrew Wiggins as four minutes remained in Tuesday's loss. While Wiggins had a breakout game himself, tying Steph Curry for the team high with 29 points and 10 rebounds, Moody's inconsistent usage came under fire after he finished the game with just 13 minutes of action, despite scoring 11 points and hitting all four of his field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.

"Moses was awesome tonight," Kerr explained to reporters after Tuesday's game. "We needed to get [Wiggins] on the floor for defense against [De'Aaron] Fox, and we decided to go with Klay [Thompson] and our vets. We thought about keeping [Moody] out there, but we made the move that we made."

Looking back on the loss, which eliminated the Warriors from the NBA In-Season Tournament, Kerr realizes sitting Moody wasn't in the team's best interest.

"Moses was really good defensively, and you're watching the tape over again, like that was a really terrible decision, and I should have left him out there at least for a couple more minutes," Kerr told "Willard & Dibs." "I regret that one."

Kerr believed Wiggins was the best player to defend Fox, but he realized Wednesday that it would have been better to sub out Thompson for Wiggins rather than Moody.

"That was definitely a mistake, and I deserve all the heat I'm taking today," Kerr concluded.

With Gary Payton II reportedly out indefinitely with a torn right calf suffered in Tuesday's loss, Moody can expect to see his playing time increase regardless of Kerr's realization.

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