Jordan Poole has been such an easy target for criticism from fans and pundits as of late, and it has clearly been weighing him down. Following an offseason trade to the Washington Wizards, he has declined across multiple levels, suffering drop-offs aplenty in scoring numbers instead of blossoming into an All-Star caliber player in a larger role. But on Monday night, Poole finally dropped his first (regular season) 30-point outing despite a 142-129 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Amid all the vitriol he has been receiving, putting in this type of performance could not have come at a better time for Poole. After all, he has been putting up one stinker after another over the past few weeks. In fact, he may have hit rock-bottom during his prior outing against the New York Knicks when he dropped just eight points on 2-11 shooting on Friday night. But Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. is pleased that Poole's struggles haven't gotten to his head yet, after he was aggressive in attacking the Bucks' defense on Monday night.

“That will open it up for us,” Unseld said of the Wizards guard's aggression in his postgame presser, per Hoop District.

The Wizards will definitely need a more locked-in version of Jordan Poole to mount more of a respectable display in the 2023-24 campaign. Entering the night, Poole was averaging a lackluster 15.5 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from the field (27.2 percent from three); to start the year, he has resembled his rookie version more than the man who helped the Warriors win the championship in 2022.

But perhaps this strong outing against the Bucks proves to be a turning point for Poole, especially when he has shown in the past that he truly does have the talent to play at a much better level than he has for most of 2023.