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If there’s one positive takeaway from the past few Golden State Warriors games, it’s the emergence of Jordan Poole. The 21-year-old has impressed head coach Steve Kerr, who mentioned that the second-year guard has been dominant both in games and scrimmages. Poole is stepping up in the absence of superstar Klay Thompson and now with Stephen Curry out of the lineup due to injury.
“He was even dominant in our scrimmage in practice yesterday. He is just brimming with confidence right now. It's great to see. Playing at a high level and will continue to get opportunities,” Kerr said of the youngster, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Poole had the reputation of being a sharpshooter during his two years at the University of Michigan. This year, he was expected to be Thompson’s replacement, and while that meant big shoes to fill, he has contributed to the Warriors’ offense.
The sophomore is more than just a shooter. He can also play off ball and has the speed to overtake defenders when they’re coming at him on defense. In the last eight games, Poole is averaging 20.3 points on 54.2 percent field goals. He’s also shooting 44.8 percent from the 3-point line in just 25.7 minutes per game in the same span.
While it has been a tough season for the Warriors, Poole could help them at least make it to the play-in tournament this campaign. Stephen Curry will reportedly miss a couple more games, which means Poole will see more action in the next coming days.
err has already been running offensive plays for Poole, specifically off pin-down screens similar to the ones they do for Curry and Thompson. Aside from his impressive play in the past few games, there’s potential for the guard to become another member of the Splash Brothers.
But the focus remains for this season. The Warriors are currently ninth in the Western Conference standings. Their next few games against the Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks will be tough, but it should be the perfect test for Curry's replacement.
