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Odds are against Jordan Poole establishing himself as the greatest shooter ever. He probably won't win back-to-back MVPs whether or not one of them is unanimous. As much as the most optimistic fans cross their fingers otherwise, Poole is unlikely to win three more titles with the Golden State Warriors, too.
Just because he's bound for a career that falls well short of Stephen Curry's, though, hardly means Poole can't learn from the growing pains his superstar teammate experienced en route to becoming one of the greatest players ever.
Poole scored 18 points and hit half of his eight three-point attempts in Golden State's hard-earned victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, at least showing signs of breaking out from a rough mini slump. He looked oddly uncomfortable with the ball early and forced up some unnecessarily tough shots, but still played a pivotal, efficient part in the Warriors' second-half comeback before Curry put his cape back on in crunch-time.
After the game, Curry was asked if any labors he experienced on the early path to stardom were similar to what Poole's going through following his breakout 2021-22.
“For sure. That's the evolution of being a scorer in this league, where you know you're not gonna surprise anybody by what you do,” Curry said. “They scout you, they gameplan for you, you're talked about before the game a little bit more than just the one-liner of what your tendencies are.”
Poole is no longer the plucky sixth man doing his best Curry impression for the Warriors mere months removed from the G-League. After finishing fourth in Most Improved Player voting and shooting a mind-blowing 62.7% on two-pointers en route to a title during his first taste of playoff basketball, he's suddenly considered one of the most dynamic playmakers in basketball.
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The problem Curry knows all too well is that opposing teams are treating him like it on the scouting report, focusing nuanced, sometimes variable attention on Poole from multiple layers of defense.
Among the reasons Poole got loose against Cleveland is because he spent more time playing off-ball with reserve units, splitting ball-handling duties with Donte DiVincenzo. The return of that element now that DiVincenzo is healthy will make life easier on Poole, as will a more consistent playing rotation around him.
Still, Poole will remain a marked man for defenses regardless. Who better to teach him how to fight through this arduous stage of on-court development than Curry?
“I would keep saying that letting the game to you is the biggest thing, 'cause you can't fight that pressure, that attention. There's too many good athletes in this league on the defensive end,” he said of Poole can take from his own experience. “So the more you can just keep the game as simple as possible, trust that even if you're getting extra attention you can get off of it, get it back, and still get your shot attempts, still get some looks, that the game will come around in your favor. But it's just about getting the reps to understand what that really feels like.”
Learned advice from an all-time great should definitely help Poole in that regard, too.
