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Cavs draft: Moses Moody could help early on as 3-and-D

By Dan Gilinsky

Arkansas Razorbacks wing Moses Moody celebrates in-game. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Arkansas Razorbacks wing Moses Moody celebrates in-game. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Moses Moody, Cleveland Cavaliers
Arkansas Razorbacks wing Moses Moody reacts in-game. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Cleveland Cavaliers draft: Moody projects as a quality perimeter defender

In his lone collegiate season at Arkansas, Moody was a quality perimeter defender that at the next level, I could foresee doing commendable work against predominantly 2s and 3s.

His ability to cut off driving lanes was something that often jumped out, and I could see Moody at times being a player, similarly to Isaac Okoro, depending on matchups/lineup construction, be Cleveland’s answer against primary playmakers.

Along with that, Moody’s feel for anticipating pull-ups from opposing wings, and his ability to get through off-ball screens to close out against three-point attempts from off-ball/off-movement shooters could be very impactful for Cleveland’s defense.

Additionally, Moody projects as a very valuable team defender that could aid the likes of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and others if he’s selected by the Cavs in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Arkansas product is a heady rotator that fully utilizes all of his 7-foot wingspan, leading to effective contests, and shooters being hesitant to let looks fly from three-point range.

Plus, that wingspan and his timing as a rotator led to Moody producing his share of blocks, even for a wing player. His 2.0 percent block rate was notable, from my perspective, and his length on the weak side shouldn’t be discounted in that regard against opposing cutters/dump off threats.

While I’ll probably wouldn’t expect Moody to start for Cleveland early on and I’m not sure if he would long-term, with Isaac Okoro coming along as last season progressed and showing encouraging signs on-ball in the season’s closing stretch, Moody’s defense could provide energy.

That’s feasibly off the bench earlier on, but having a quality defender and off-ball playmaker on that end for stretches would be a nice addition, regardless, and would bring meaningful depth in that realm.

Alright so moving on, we’ll take a look at the shooting aspect with Moody/how that’d aid Cleveland.