Arkansas’s Moses Moody has the defensive chops and three-point promise to make him a real prospect for the struggling Indiana Pacers in the 2021 NBA Draft
Welcome to Pacer Prospects, the series where we will take a look at prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft that I think would be a great fit for the Indiana Pacers not only now, but for the foreseeable future.
In today’s analysis, we will be looking at Arkansas’s lengthy defensive wing, Moses Moody, who projects to be an uber-impactful switchable threat with real signs of rim protection and defensive prowess capable of stifling 6-foot-2 guards and bigs alike. Not only does he ooze potential on the less glamourous side of the hardwood, but he also shows signs of being a real three-point threat at the next level.
Not every installation of this series will be strictly predicated on the most popular prospects, rather I’ll aim to cover players I believe would help the Pacers from a plug-and-play perspective and/or project to help the Pacers as they develop.
We shall start off with the positive: What are Moses Moody’s strengths?
What are the NBA-ready skills that Moses Moody would bring to the Indiana Pacers?
Defense: What can’t he do on this end?
What a defensive prospect this kid is. While I salivated over players of last year’s class like Isaac Okoro and Devin Vassell, Moody might have these guys beat from a defensive perspective, and that is scary.
Standing at 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-0 wingspan, the 206-pound guard/forward has the ideal body type and measurements for a player of this mold. With a low center of gravity and somewhat wide shoulders, this Razorback in fact knows how to use his gifted measurables in a tangible way to be an exponentially disruptive player.
He has great hips and the way he uses his elite lateral quickness is textbook as players have a nightmarish time getting past Moody in drive situations or isolation attempts. This comes to fruition when aided by Moses’s beautiful defensive stance and ability to use his arms and shoulders without fouling.
Moody utilizes his incredible reaction time and predictionary view of the game to routinely and almost robotically be in the right spot at the right time all the time whether it be on quick switches on the perimeter to even backside rotations to pick up blocks with his freakishly quick hands. He is like a free safety with how easily he picks off passes via deflections.
It doesn’t matter if he’s off-ball or clamping down on lead initiators, he seems to have eyes in the back of his head as he always knows what is going on throughout the play, and this makes him very special.
Lastly, the way he uses his length to contest and strong lower body to bang down low paint us a portrait of a prospect that after strength development could easily switch onto NBA bigs in a Marcus Smart-like fashion.
Because of his ability to lock down wings and forwards alike, and being able to wall off bigs down low, I can easily foreshadow that Moses Moody will at some point find himself on an All-Defensive team. His free safety-like ability off the ball, and bear trapping ability on it make him an almost 10/10 defensive prospect.
The Indiana Pacers could use Mood’s shooting, too
Shooting: Real upside, with a lot to already work with!
When watching Moses Moody play at Arkansas, it’s clear that any NBA team that selects him will have a lot to work with offensively and that is thanks to a budding three-point stroke.
Although he only shot 35.8% from three this year in college on about six attempts per game, his mechanics make me believe that he could someday be a 38% at least in the big leagues. His release and load up to his shot are a bit slow right now which has hurt him, but his catch and shoot shooting are very solid and it’s clear that these situations are how he contributes offensively.
He needs to develop his off-screen shooting and on the bounce pull-ups, and when contested he has a bad habit of kicking his right leg out which can throw off balance, but in a strong player development system like the Pacers, he could very well become a massive threat from three.
Playmaking: Knows what to do, just needs to iron it out
As I’ve already said previously, Moody is such an instinctual and predictionary player defensively, and that leaks into his playmaking. Although his handle may be underdeveloped to this point (I’ll get to that later) Moody makes the correct read most of the time.
In the half-court, Moody is a very valuable connecting passer, as he knows when to hit players in stride for a jumper or a big on a dive. Forget the assists to turnover ratio in college, Moody’s problems playmaking is far from a “feel” problem, he just needs to work on execution.
At times when rifling a pass inside his velocity or accuracy can be off just slightly, leading to turnovers. Playing with Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis, and T.J. McConnell could do real wonders for this aspect of his offensive bag.
He should be awesome in transition with his athleticism and intelligence, and he could add the needed element athletically the Pacers need. He could reasonably average three or four assists someday.
With all of this said, what stops the Razorback’s Moses Moody from being a top-three prospect?
We know about his elite defense and solid shooting, but what weaknesses could scare the Indiana Pacers away from Moses Moody?
Isolation Scoring: Just not a diverse enough scorer to be a go-to option.
In the draft prospect analysis world, you may hear people say that a prospect needs to “find more tools for their bag”, and Moses Moody could be the poster child for this problem this year.
Yes, he does project as a great shooter and off-ball cutter, but the rest of his game needs some more developmental growth before you can confidently run sets in the offense for him.
His dribble isn’t good enough to change directions in his drives, and he may never be a player that “breaks down” his opponent with a shifty or definitive handle. His pull-up jumper is a real question mark, and he doesn’t project as a tough shot maker.
Driving and finishing: Infuriating to watch with his upside.
Moses Moody should be such an awesome finisher, but he falls into the same trap many young wings fall into, which is lack of aggression. With just how physical and downright mean Moody is on defense, you’d think some of that would transfer over to his rim attacking.
It just doesn’t, and at times he seems genuinely wary of physicality. With his solid first step and length, he should be able to draw fouls at will, but this fear of contact really slows this part of his game down.
Body Strength: should develop fast, but hinders overall potential now.
Although the scale lights up with 206 pounds when Moody stands on it, he doesn’t yet play like he carries that weight on the floor yet. Part of his shortcomings driving the rock or gaining positioning in isolation is a byproduct of not having enough strength in his upper body.
This is the one thing that holds him back defensively, as there are still plays where he can be absolutely erased on screens and steamrolled by big-bodied bigs on the low block.
I think once he gets to the NBA, this should be something that is improved quickly once he gets off of that collegiate diet and sleep schedule. As we all know, NBA training, weight lifting, and diet plans transform the gym rats like Moses Moody.
With his strengths and weaknesses analyzed, would Moses Moody fit on the Indiana Pacers?
The day one impact of Moses Moody on the Indiana Pacers.
Defense: The long-needed primary stopper has finally arrived!
Injuries are not the biggest problem with the Indiana Pacers this season, as our perimeter defense, or lack thereof, has been this team’s Achilles’ Heel since we first laced our shoes up in the preseason, and T.J. Warren‘s absence wouldn’t change that. The Pacers haven’t had a stopper we can confidently throw on an opposing team’s best player all season.
Defensive mega stud Myles Turner‘s back must be killing him this year, as he has carried almost 100% of the load defensively, and he’s needed someone to lessen the burden he carries on that end. Moses Moody would unquestionably be that dude for the Pacers.
The Pacers would be able to confidently let him eat up high-level scorers thanks to his physicality, elite defensive fundamentals, tenacity, and track meet stamina.
The perfect fit defensively doesn’t just come from his ability to be a primary defender though, as his aforementioned off-ball expertise would allow him to swing backside and help Turner at the rim in weakside help situations.
All in all, Moses Moody would be a can’t miss prospect defensively for a team that again, is sorely lacking athleticism and defensive ability on the wing.
Offense: Solid off-ball threat and spot-up option
Even though he may be far from a perfect fit schematically for the Pacers, he would still add an exceptional amount of value to a 2021 Navy and Gold roster that will have a good amount of high usage players like T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, and Caris LeVert.
With all of these high usage point snaggers, it could be wise to draft a player that thrives off the ball. Speaking of Sabonis, drafting Moody could give Domas a much-needed off-ball cutting option that we really only see in Doug McDermott. Sabonis throwing missiles to a cutting Moody could give Nate Bjorkgren a couple of buckets a game, and I think Moody’s own passing could add more fluidity to an at times rigid and pick and roll dependant offense.
His spot-up shooting would just be icing on the cake, as he’d fit well away from the frequent Brogdon-Sabonis pick and roll and dribble hand-off actions. He’d keep the spacing that other solid shooters like Justin Holiday bring while also adding his elite defense.
His offense could really shine for this team on the fastbreak, as because of his strength as a rebounder, he’d bide well as a “grab and go” option running the break with his high IQ passing and solid fastbreak finishing. Again, this is a skillset the Pacers lack.
Where is he supposed to be selected?
Where would Moses Moody be available to the Indiana Pacers in the 2021 NBA Draft?
The most recent mock drafts around the Net have the Indiana Pacers in fact selecting Moses Moody around pick 9-12, and I think that’s a reasonable place to pick a player of this caliber up. If the Pacers have a pick in the 8-15 range, I don’t think you can really “reach” on a player with this much defensive ability and solid offensive growth potential.
If you have the opportunity to pick a switchable wing with chops to guard bigs and confidence behind the three-point line, it’s hard to miss on a player like that in today’s game.
Projected stats with the Indiana Pacers:
While he may never be an offensive star, he is still the type of player who can average 15 points a game as an off-ball option, especially on a Pacers team that is top-four in assists in the entire league.
I project his line to be something like 15 points, 5-7 rebounds, 4-6 assists, 2 steals, and a block a game. All the while putting up percentages of 45/37/80.