It's a luxury for the Golden State Warriors to have Jordan Poole off the bench, ready and willing to step into the lead guard role with Stephen Curry injured. He's done admirably to try and replicate production from the one-of-a-kind superstar, but it's clear he has a ways to go to be able to even come close to filling those Under Armor shoes.
Jordan Poole's box score numbers and highlight plays have at least been within the stratosphere of what Steph Curry brings. He's averaged 29.1 points per game through the nine contests Curry has missed, including two 40-point games.
But one area in which he hasn't been as successful has been in taking care of the ball. He's averaged a whopping 5.1 turnovers per game in that stretch, with several coming in crunch time situations when defenses key in on the team's primary ball-handler and most dynamic playmaker.
That's been evident in several games with Poole in the starting unit – including in the recent double overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks wherein Poole coughed the ball up down 119-118 with just 12 seconds left to play.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sees the silver lining in all this as a young, budding star going through the appropriate growing pains, via CJ Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“I keep saying this but what I love about Jordan is that he has another level to reach and these games are so great for him to feel what it’s like being Steph, what it’s like to have the best defender on you, to have the pressure on you, to have to function down the stretch where the game is going to be more physical,” said Kerr on Jordan Poole taking on a Stephen Curry role.
It may not always be pretty, but getting live reps in real-game situations is the best practice for Jordan Poole to overcome the added pressure, both for later in the season and perhaps in a future, years away, when Stephen Curry passes on the mantle to him.
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