Jordan Poole had a shot at glory during the dying seconds of Game 1. With the Golden State Warriors down three points, he took it upon himself to go for the tie with the game on the line.

The Warriors guard pulled up from nearly 30 feet and clanked his shot off the side of the rim:

Obviously if it went in, Jordan Poole would have been celebrated as a clutch hero, especially if the Warriors escaped with a victory in a potential overtime. But the invincible armor only applies when your risky shot goes in. The miss opened him up to scrutiny as NBA Twitter began a heated debate about whether or not the shot was a fair one to even attempt.

The argument in favor of Jordan Poole is simple.

He had it going for most of the game and was actually the most efficient Warriors scorer among their main offensive threats. Poole was shooting 7-of-14 at that point and was the only one among Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins who was shooting a decent percentage from the field.

Poole also was just a few possessions removed from connecting on a huge three-point shot that trimmed the lead to three. It was one of his six makes in what was by far his best shooting game of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

The argument against Jordan Poole's shot is even more simple – he's not Stephen Curry.

Credit to the Lakers for a textbook trap once the Warriors point guard crossed half court, which forced him to swing the ball to Draymond Green before it ended up in the hands of Poole. Forcing up the shot would be more defensible had there been less than five seconds on the clock. Who knows if they'll get another clean look should he hesitate?

But peep the clock when Poole catches the ball and you'll see 11 seconds left in the game. You'll also see Jared Vanderbilt, the man who double-teamed Steph Curry, forced to run over to Poole to leave Curry in single coverage against Austin Reaves.

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Curry is arguably the best off-ball offensive specialist in NBA history. Eleven seconds was more than enough time for him to shake his man, relocate, and get the ball back for a more dynamic look with the defense scrambling. Austin Reaves would have had a better chance staying on a raging bull than for him to completely deny the Warriors MVP at least one more touch had Poole made more of an effort to find him.

With the Lakers overcommitting to the three-point arc, Jordan Poole would have been better off penetrating the paint to force the defense to collapse. This would have either opened up the lane for an easy two points or given Steph Curry or Klay Thompson enough time to get the ball for one final look. 11 seconds was way too much time not to let their offense simmer a few seconds more to see if they can cook up something better than a tough 30-foot attempt from a player who was shooting 25.7 percent from three in the 2023 NBA playoffs entering the contest.

At the end of the day, that's the risk you take when going for a hero shot like Jordan Poole did. It just looks much worse when you have Stephen Curry slumping down in defeat after you miss it.