The Warriors player was expected to fill in for the injured Draymond Green while he is out

Left Draymond Green the Golden State WarriorsLast night’s game against the Washington Wizards was close, and with the exact timetable for his return uncertain, Steve Kerr is likely turning to one of his young players to replace Green.

After Saturday’s 122-114 win over Washington, Kerr hinted Moses Moody would be a guy to boost until Green is available.

“If Draymond is out a little bit, this is a good chance for Moses to get a lot of minutes in that four spot,” Kerr said (h/t Anthony Slater of the Athletics ).

Moody played his second minutes in any game this season and made the most of his opportunity. In 29 minutes Moody recorded 13 points with +12.

this season, Moody’s minutes were sporadic; he averaged 15.6 minutes in the first 23 games of the season before missing several weeks with knee tendinitis. However, over the past three weeks, Kerr has seemed less hesitant to give Moody playing time, which has increased significantly to 19.7 minutes in that time frame. Additionally, he has logged four of his seven season-high minutes since Jan. 7.

Still, it will be hard for the Warriors to miss Green for any length of time. Green, who will undergo an MRI on his left calf today, is the defensive heart and soul of Golden State, as well as one of the team’s most vocal leaders. Without Green, there’s no telling how the Warriors will fare, especially considering the team hasn’t fared incredibly well with him.

Since starting the season 12-3, the Warriors are 9-17 and have sunk into a three-way tie for ninth place in the Western Conference. Any slipup could see the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, with whom Golden State is tied in the standings, put some cushion between them and the Warriors. Also, the San Antonio Spurs are just 1.5 games back of the top three, putting Golden State in serious danger of falling to 12th in the West.

The Warriors were expected to make another trade before the deadline — sooner acquired Dennis Schroeder from the Brooklyn Nets — to strengthen a team that has floundered in the last two months.

The Warriors have been ineffective — they’re 24th in the league in shooting and have the ninth-highest turnover percentage — and appear to need big help for Stephen Currywho, while not saying he wants to be traded, has made it both vague and clear that he wants to be on a winning team.