With the reintegration of Klay Thompson, no one’s role on the Warriors has changed more than Jordan Poole. The third-year guard can provide instant offense on the nights he’s hot. Other evenings, he can do a mean Casper impression.
Poole played a key part in the team’s 23-5 tear to begin the season, averaging 30.7 minutes and 17.9 points per game as a starter before being sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols. Draymond Green was also healthy throughout that stretch of the season, when the Warriors were arguably at their best in 2021-22.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Wednesday evening to discuss Poole’s adjustment and much more with hosts Ray Ratto and Whitey Gleason (filling in for Damon Bruce). You can listen to the full interview above.
Ever since returning to the roster on New Year’s Day, Poole has been adjusting to his new assignment as sixth man. In an ideal world, Poole would be the Warriors’ version of Lou Williams or a more efficient Jordan Clarkson, leading the second unit and helping provide a steady stream of offense throughout the game. In 28 games (seven starts) since returning from protocols, Poole’s minutes (26.4 per game) and scoring (14.2 per game) have decreased, which is to be expected.
The potential is there, for sure, but the problem with Poole is his inconsistency. He can either drop 30 or lay an egg. Poole has been struggling since February, as lowlighted by his 4-point effort against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday that featured no made field goals. Poole was also replaced by Damion Lee in the game’s closing lineup. He’ll have a chance to redeem himself against the Mavs on Thursday night, with the 5:30 p.m. PT tip-off broadcasting on 95.7 The Game.
For now, Poole’s job is to score. He’s cooled off with just 12.2 points per game on 42 percent shooting over the past month.
“While Jordan was definitely in more of a groove as a starter, this is the role we need him in right now,” Kerr told 95.7 The Game. “We’ve gotta do everything we can to help him get more comfortable. I thought he had some good moments [Tuesday] night, he played great in Portland, he’s had a great season overall. Some tough games are going to be part of it, but we’ll continue to try to get him as comfortable as possible. We just need him to be really aggressive.”
What do the numbers say?
Twitter user @Punk_Basketball of Dub Nation HQ shared some charts of Poole’s per-36 minute numbers as a starter this season (35 games) compared to a reserve (21 games).
From those numbers, you could argue Poole has pretty much been in a 3-point shooting slump over the past couple of months. Otherwise, his splits look pretty similar and he’s a slightly better assist/rebound guy off the bench. And he’s still the NBA’s best free throw shooter at 92.5 percent.
Without Green, Kerr has been juggling his lineups the past couple of months. Over the past four games, Kerr has decided to start Gary Payton II, determining that his high-energy defense is impossible to keep off the floor.
“Now we’re starting Gary Payton because our defense has suffered over the last few weeks,” Kerr said. “If you want to start Steph and Gary Payton in the backcourt, which we’re doing, and you wanna throw Jordan out there, that’s a tiny perimeter group. Going against an offensive rebounding team like Minnesota, you gotta put somebody on Jarred Vanderbilt, who’s one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. Those are the decisions you gotta make.”
The result? Poole stays on the bench to begin the game.
Poole’s facial expressions have been the genesis of dozens of memes since the season started. During a small media scrum during Wednesday’s practice in the Dallas area, Poole grimaced his way through a 90-second interview that must have felt like an eternity, judging from his body language and terse answers. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater shared video of the Q&A:
Asked what needs to happen to get him going, Poole replied, “Just continue to keep playing.”
Has his fluctuating role played a part in his up-and-down performance?
“You just gotta find a way to play through it,” Poole said.
Does he care if he’s a starter or coming off the bench?
“As long as I’m out there playing, it feels good.”
This isn’t the first time Poole has shown signs of discomfort on the topic of his sixth-man role. Back on Jan. 25, the Warriors blew out the Mavs 130-92. It marked the first contest that Poole (17 points) and Thompson (15 points) each scored at least 15 points in the same game.
In the post-game press conference, a reporter asked Poole if a night like that could help him get more comfortable off the bench. He responded with a non-related boilerplate answer.
“Really good win tonight,” Poole said. “We were able to swing the ball and get a lot of good looks. We got a lot of good looks early. I don’t know, we just had it going and had it clicking.”
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Poole is only 22. He’s a fierce competitor. He also has to know the Warriors have a legit chance to win the title, so he’s not going to do anything to publicly rock the boat.
Poole might not like coming off the bench, but he’s not taking a backseat to some Joe Shmo. It’s Klay Freakin’ Thompson after a 941-day layoff. Klay is going to start. Poole is going to be the sixth man. Kerr’s logic is to keep it that way, even when Thompson is out, makes sense.
Poole might be in the market for a four-year, $80 million contract extension this offseason, but this is his role for now. Again, the numbers suggest it could merely be a matter of knocking down more 3-pointers. But the sooner Poole gets comfortable, the better off the Warriors will be.
