Jordan Poole did not have his best performances for the Golden State Warriors in their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. In Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers, though, Poole had a terrific scoring night with 21 points on 6-11 shooting from 3-point range.
Unfortunately for the young guard, one of those misses from deep came late in the fourth quarter with Golden State trailing by three points, a shot that has been heavily scrutinized. Poole missed a 28-foot jumper that would have tied things up with about nine seconds to play, and the Lakers went on to win Game 1 in San Francisco 117-112.
Why did he take that shot? Shouldn't he have passed the ball to either Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson? What was Poole thinking?
These are all question people have been asking regarding Poole's attempt to tie things up for the Warriors late in Tuesday night's game, but the Warriors do not seem to have a problem with this shot.
“I thought Jordan did a really good job. I had the timeouts left, but I saw them double teaming Steph at half-court so I knew someone was going to be wide-open if we could just get the ball out,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the game, via Warriors on NBCS. “Steph did a great job, he got the ball out of the trap and Jordan was wide-open. It was a pretty good look and that's a shot he can hit so I was really happy with that possession.
“Jordan had hit six 3s already so it was a great shot for us.”
Steve Kerr calls JP's 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left "a great shot for us." pic.twitter.com/dcRzTCgITL
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 3, 2023
Obviously, the Warriors and their fans would have been a lot more comfortable with Curry or Thompson taking a deep 3-pointer late in the game, but as Kerr mentioned, Poole had already made six triples in the game prior to this shot.
The Warriors have always been known for their 3-point shooting and Poole has certainly earned the right to have the ball in his hands in big moments like the one at the end of Game 1 on Tuesday.
Not only has Kerr defended Poole's shot, but even Draymond Green went on his podcast after this loss to the Lakers and he too defended his teammates shot.
“I know everyone is talking about the last 3 that he missed,” Green stated on The Draymond Green Show. “Quite frankly, I like the shot. Obviously you tell him to eat up the space and take the 3 a little bit closer, but Jordan can shoot the ball and he got a good look at it. Yes, you want him to take a couple of steps in and get an even closer 3, but Jordan taking that 3 is not why we lost that game.”
Going 6-10 from 3-point range prior to his potential game-tying shot, it is clear to see why the Warriors were confident with this shot from Poole late in the game.
Losing Game 1 to the Lakers was not ideal for the Warriors, but they have proven that they are more than capable of coming back from a deficit and will surely come out ready to even things up in Game 2 on Thursday night.
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