Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, February 26th.

Warriors News:

Kerr offers reason for Moody’s recent lack of playing time | NBC Sports Bay Area

In speaking to reporters following Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets, coach Steve Kerr revealed why Moody’s minutes have declined recently.

“There’s only so many guys I can play,” Kerr said. “I already had 11 guys in the rotation which is almost impossible. Twelve is impossible.

“He’s out of the loop right now, but that doesn’t mean that’s the case for the rest of the season. We’ve got a lot of guys who are healthy; we’re getting Chris [Paul] back at some point on this trip, so everybody has got to stay ready.

“There’s not enough minutes for everybody.”

Klay embracing Warriors bench role clear to Kerr, Steph | NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry, Thompson’s longtime backcourt running mate, likes what he’s seeing from his Splash Brother in the Sixth Man role.

“Even the game — Was the LA game where he only had three points? — It was one of the better all-around floor games he’s had where he took what the defense gave him, took the shots he’s supposed to shoot, most of them didn’t go in but the way the game flows and where he gets his opportunities, he was always making the right play,” Curry told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “Playing great defense on whoever his matchup was. Got us some rebounds, extra possessions that way. And then tonight, it’s kind of the opposite where he’s hot and giving us a huge lead and huge boost the first nine minutes he was out there.

“It all comes from understanding no matter if it’s a starting role, bench role, whatever it is, he’s still Klay Thompson and he can come in and do exactly what he did tonight. I know he wanted to shoot better in the second half but the more reps he gets and the more confidence he has to just go out there and play basketball and don’t let the narratives kind of consume him, that’s when he’s at his best.”

He didn’t come in looking to establish his kingdom. He did little things to honor what they’d already built. He kept their team slogan (“Just Us”) up on the walls. He praised Jackson publicly and regularly, and he agreed unwaveringly with the notion that he inherited greatness.

“Obviously,” Curry said, “people talk about him having a blessed roster coming in, which he did. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the fit was going to work. Also, he’s never been the one, even from Day 1, who said he was the reason or the key. … He’s never had the aura that it’s him and only him. That was key.”

NBA News:

Jimmy Butler among 5 players suspended for Heat-Pelicans brawl | The Athletic

The NBA handed Butler and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall one-game suspensions without pay each “for instigating and engaging in an on-court altercation” during the game at Smoothie King Center.

Heat center Thomas Bryant and Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado received three-game suspensions without pay for leaving the bench area “during the on-court altercation and fighting,” the league said. Heat forward Nikola Jović received a one-game suspension without pay for leaving the bench area during the brawl.

Hawks’ Trae Young out at least 4 weeks for finger surgery | ESPN

“You feel awful for Trae more than anything,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “It is going to be a challenge for him not to be out there.”

The loss of Young comes as the Hawks, fighting for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, are facing front-line depth issues as center Onyeka Okongwu recovers from a sprained left toe. Snyder said Thursday that Okongwu is not going to be available for the foreseeable future.

“You have to adapt,” Snyder said. “That happened when we lost Jalen [Johnson]. We have to have minutes from Kobe [Bufkin] and Patty [Mills] and we obviously know what [Dejounte Murray] can do. I don’t want to wallow in anything.”

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

How the Warriors lost the 4-on-3 battle against the Nuggets

In stark contrast to two years ago, the Nuggets are in a stratosphere currently unreachable by this iteration of the Warriors. They executed near perfectly on both ends of the floor and constantly took away what the Warriors wanted to do. Curry struggled (20 points on 6-of-19 shooting, 1-of-10 on threes, 44.4% TS), and the Nuggets’ defense had plenty to do with that. While Jokić has better personnel surrounding him this time, he is still the one who makes everything tick for the Nuggets: 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting and 62.1% TS — to go along with 16 rebounds and 16 assists.

Did the Warriors leave some things on the table tonight? For sure — but it was also a simple matter of the Nuggets being the much better team this time around

The Golden State Warriors were putting the final touches on their 97-84 victory over the Charlotte Hornets last night in Chase Center when Lester Quinones went for a layup in the closing seconds. It wasn’t that big of a deal considering if he didn’t the Dubs would have a turnover on the stat sheet for no reason, but Hornet forward Miles Bridges took umbrage to what could be considered by bitter observers as the Warriors running up the score.

That’s when Bridges went for a shot block and began a shoving match with Quinones that ultimately escalated into both teams pushing and jockeying against each other. Hornets forward Grant Williams found his way into the skirmish, ultimately going nose to nose with Quinones and then barking at Draymond Green who was chilling on the sidelines.