During the NBA playoffs a season ago, Jordan Poole emerged as a key scoring weapon for the Golden State Warriors and helped lift this organization to their fourth championship in the last eight seasons.
This year, the Warriors are back in the playoffs and looking to win another championship, but Poole's production has taken a massive hit. His scoring from last postseason to this postseason has declined by nearly 31.8 percent and Poole has suddenly become more of a liability than an asset at this point for the Warriors.
Golden State is preparing for a critical Game 4 on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers and they have a chance to even up this series at 2-2 before heading back to San Francisco. Should the Warriors lose this game though, they will be down 3-1 to LeBron James and Co. in the series, putting themselves in a scenario where they would have to win three straight games to advance. After playing 31 minutes in Game 1 of this series and scoring 21 points, Poole saw just 16 minutes in Game 2 and then 22 minutes in Game 3, scoring a combined 11 points and committing five combined turnovers.
What Jordan Poole's role will look like the rest of the way, particularly in Game 4, is a question yet to be answered. However, the Warriors as a whole do not seem to be too concerned with the young guard's lack of production and recent slump, as head coach Steve Kerr talked about Poole's recent performances on Sunday.
“I have great faith in Jordan. He's had good playoff games for us this year and obviously he had a great run last year,” Kerr told reporters, via Jason Dumas. “He knows and we know that he can do it, but I thought last night [Game 3], the whole group had rushed possessions… It's really about the whole group, it's not about one individual guy.”
In their Game 3 loss on the road, the Warriors committed 19 total turnovers that led to 27 points for the Lakers. After outscoring the Lakers 30-23 in the opening quarter, the Warriors were outscored 104-67 the rest of the way, surrendering 36 points in the second quarter and 41 points in the fourth quarter to Los Angeles.
Defensively, the Warriors have some adjustments to make and they can really help themselves on both ends of the floor by not turning the ball over. Poole may not be scoring nor shooting well right now, but he alone is not to blame for Golden State being down 2-1 in this series ahead of Game 4.
“From game to game, there's always I guess a report card on how you play and for him [Jordan Poole], it should just be about what he feels,” Stephen Curry said of his teammate, via Dumas. “We are all extremely confident in what he provides for us, what he can do out there and keeping it positive is just how you approach the game. That's what I love about him.”
Poole has his coach and teammates supporting him right now, but the bottom line is that he needs to be better in order for the Warriors to have a chance at not only winning another championship but simply making it out of this round against the Lakers.
Someone outside of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson is going to have to step up in this series and because of his explosive nature of play, Poole gives this team their best chance at advancing. Bench scoring and secondary scoring is key in the postseason and so far through three games in this series, the Warriors' bench has been outscored 119-108 by the Lakers' bench.
In Game 3, the Lakers made some key defensive adjustments after the first quarter, one of which involved how they are defending pick-and-roll sets by the Warriors. Through the first two games, Anthony Davis or whoever was the big man for the Lakers was staying off the screen and not helping their teammate who was fighting through a screen. This allowed for Curry, Thompson and other shooters to get great looks and Golden State made 21 threes in each of the first two games of this series.
The adjustment the Lakers made here was having Davis or whoever else that was defending the screener “jump the screen” and not give the Warriors an open look at the basket from the perimeter. This forced the Warriors to take extra dribbles to try and make a play out of nothing, resulting in turnovers and frustration from Golden State. The Warriors went just 13-44 (29.5 percent) from deep in Game 3.
They will undoubtedly have an adjustment for this heading into Game 4 and cutting down on turnovers is most definitely a point of emphasis for the Warriors, but Poole can really exploit the Lakers here because he is so agile and crafty with the ball in his hands. Perhaps Poole's best quality as a playmaker and primary ball-handler is his speed, as we have seen him drive past his defender to the hoop numerous times in these playoffs. He even did so against LeBron James in Game 3 as seen below!
Jordan Poole uses his eyes to freeze Lebron for the blow by finish.
Eye fakes are under taught in skill development. pic.twitter.com/clHq8vHzJE
— Joey Burton (@JoeyBurton) May 7, 2023
Instead of settling for contested shots on the perimeter and instead of just dribbling the ball around in three-point land, Poole can really help turn the tide in this series by initiating the offense and attacking the Lakers out of these pick-and-roll sets.
In doing so, Poole will force Davis and others on the Lakers' defense to make split decisions on whether to guard him or their man setting the screen. This could open up the Warriors' offense tremendously.
Not only could the screeners like Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and even Andrew Wiggins become threats to roll to the rim and score, but should they receive a pass from Poole who is driving to the rim, these screeners could then catch the Lakers on their toes by moving the ball again to an open shooter in Curry or Thompson. Since Los Angeles' defense will be scrambling to try and cover all of their angles, the Warriors can really exploit them since they are deadly when Curry and Thompson are running off of screens. When Poole can command the offense and begin making plays for others, they are virtually unstoppable on offense.
The point is, if Poole drives the ball with the intent to score, he creates pressure on the Lakers' defense and he forces them to make a decision on what they are going to give up. Obviously this will not work every single possession and Los Angeles may make even more defensive adjustments as the series goes on, but just getting back to the basics and Poole playing to his strengths instead of trying to play “hero ball” makes the Warriors one of the best offenses in the entire league.
Look for the Warriors to get Jordan Poole involved early when he comes into Game 4 on Monday night, as Golden State will need his production if they are to find success the rest of the way.
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