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Jordan Poole was a surprise second-half starter for the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
Replacing Kevon Looney to unleash the defending champions' vaunted small-ball lineup indeed gave them the jolt Steve Kerr knew his team so badly needed. Golden State trailed the Sacramento Kings 67-55 at intermission, but made up nine points on the scoreboard in the first few minutes of the third quarter, generating two-way feedback loops of suffocating defense and efficient early offense.
Poole's presence alone certainly played a part in the Warriors establishing that game-changing momentum before Stephen Curry refused to let his team lose in crunch-time. He was still more an idle passenger than the driving force behind it, though, Poole's early-season struggles continuing throughout Monday's game even as Golden State finally broke its five-game losing streak.
Poole scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting in 22 minutes versus Sacramento, adding three assists and as many turnovers. It was easily the fewest points he's managed in a single game over the first three weeks of the regular season, but even that reality doesn't convey just how passive and out of sync Poole seemed irrespective of the teammates surrounding him.
When was the last time Poole looked this indecisive around the rim? It's not like Kevin Huerter is some plus rim-protector, but Poole barely looks at the basket here. He not only predetermines a pass before catching on a backdoor cut, but misses the easy kickout to Andrew Wiggins in the near corner because he's dead set on finding Curry or Klay Thompson above the break.
Poole didn't speak with reporters after the game.
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He's missed at least a third of his field goal attempts in Golden State's last five outings, and his 53.5 true shooting percentage is several points below league average. There's always noise behind on-off numbers, especially under a small sample size for a team with a wholly ineffective bench like the Warriors', but Poole's -30.7 net rating—second-worst in the league among all rotation players, per Cleaning the Glass—speaks volumes regardless.
Still, Golden State's leaders remain unwavering in their confidence that Poole will eventually find his footing.
“JP's in a little bit of a funk right now, but we know what he can do,” Kerr said. “He's so important to our bench unit, and I'm very confident he'll get it going.”
Curry echoed that sentiment, pointing to Poole's standout play offensively during the Warriors' championship run last summer.
“We know who he is, we know what he's capable of. He's shown some big flashes of it at times early throughout this season,” he said of Poole. “…He helped us win a championship last year, so you have to maintain your confidence through the rough patches, and not let it attack the way that you carry yourself out there. That's his biggest challenge, and I think he'll be up for it.”
Poole won't continue starting as Kerr keeps searching for answers in the Warriors' rotation. The main reason he opened the second half on Monday was so Golden State could slot Green or Kevon Looney at center for the game's remainder without risking fatigue or additional foul trouble.
But if the Warriors finally muster some semblance of cohesiveness off the bench as the season wears on, expect Poole to be the player who benefits most from that development.
