Washington Wizards combo guard Jordan Poole is the very definition of a hot-and-cold player. When a basketball fan browses a visual dictionary and stumbles upon the word streaky, Poole's photo is what comes up. His explosive scoring nights have endeared him to fans, but it's his ghastly, inefficient performances that tend to leave a sour taste on everyone's mouths that by the end of his Golden State Warriors stint, fans no longer believed that he could co-exist with the team's more established stars.

And surely enough, Poole's inconsistencies have turned up once again in preseason. Fresh off a 41-point performance against the New York Knicks that could make the Warriors brass feel some regret about trading him away, the Wizards guard dropped a stinker on Friday night in a 134-98 preseason loss to the Toronto Raptors. Poole scored just seven points on 1-15 shooting, which is not a good night for any NBA player, to say the least.

Nevertheless, Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley defended the Wizards guard, saying that, over two games, Jordan Poole still averaged 24 points.

“That’s why it’s averages. Still averaging a cool 24 ain’t bad at all,” Beverley wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

Sure, on the surface that may not be a bad output over the span of two games. But efficiency has to matter as well, not just volume. Even though Jordan Poole averaged 24 points in those two games, he did so on an average of around 32 percent shooting from the field, which simply will not cut it at any level of basketball, much less the NBA.

There also tends to be value in game-by-game consistency, as it tends to keep teams in games more often. As it is, it's difficult to win when one of the team's primary offensive options misses 14 of his 15 field-goal attempts. If Poole managed to just hit his usual percentages and spread out his averages much more evenly, the Wizards may be a better team overall given the lack of talent up-and-down the roster.

Still, the outspoken Sixers guard has a point, and that Wizards fans shouldn't be too concerned by Poole's terrible performance on Friday night.