Golden State Warriors: Jordan Poole is his own worst enemy

Much like Michael Myers, the Golden State Warriors have appeared unkillable to start the 2021-22 NBA season. Even when they are seemingly down for the count, a late-game surge from Jordan Poole or Stephen Curry is always on the table, keeping them in reach of victory at all times.

We saw this on opening night when Poole’s second half explosion allowed the Dubs to overcome a double-digit deficit in spite of Curry’s lackluster 5-of-21 shooting. JP was not great himself, shooting only 8-of-18 but making good on the shots that mattered.

And, in contrast, we saw how Curry can simply catapult the Warriors to victory against the LA Clippers when Poole was missing from the action. A pair of deep bombs from Curry pushed the Dubs to 2-0 on the season while Poole watched from the sidelines.

Why exactly was Poole, the team’s second-leading scorer and replacement for Klay Thompson, on the bench during crunch time? Well, that is because growth is never a linear journey — and Poole has emerged as his own worst enemy.

Jordan Poole’s resilience has put him in a position for success with the Golden State Warriors but he will have to temper his expectations in order to win.

“I told him to slow down,” Draymond Green told The Athletic about Poole’s erratic performance on Thursday. It was clear to everyone watching that the young star was forcing things and the results were not pretty.

Poole finished with 9 points and 7 turnovers on 4-of-14 shooting. Along the way, a few 3-pointers sailed past the rim in airball fashion while a pair of ill-advised layup attempts sent Poole to the bench for good in the fourth quarter. According to reports, Poole threw a towel in frustration after being subbed out.

All of this is good, believe it or not.

Okay, not all of it. It’s not ideal for your starting shooting guard to have so many head-scratching plays in the same game — followed by a miniature temper tantrum in the huddle — but it shows that Poole is playing with fire. The same fire that fuels some of the best players in the NBA, including Green.

There is no question Poole is ultra-competitive. In fact, Steve Kerr alluded to Poole’s early struggles as a reason for why he pressed so hard in the second half — he just wanted to compensate and help the team as much as possible.

Poole must play within the flow of the game

Poole’s current issues are nothing he can not solve. His shot selection is a bit audacious but the fact he has the confidence to pull anything from anywhere is encouraging for a player who struggled to find his rhythm in the past.

The Most Improved candidate was bound to hit a wall at some point. In this case, I mean a literal wall — with opposing defenses beginning to treat him like the rising star he is. Poole is no longer dancing on casual defense, he is being accounted for in gameplans and defenders are making it a point to get into his chest.

This physicality played a role in Poole’s rough performance against LA. And, for what it is worth, the roughness of Terrance Mann and Eric Bledsoe did a sound job of making Curry uncomfortable for much of the second and third quarters (he still finished with 45 points though because, well, he is Stephen Curry).

In many ways, Poole reminds me of the same young, wide-eyed sharpshooter Curry once was. Sometimes he puts too much on his plate and attempts to execute moves he has no business even attempting. And, sometimes he miraculously pulls it off — like when he nailed an absurd pull-up early on Thursday.

Growing pains are okay. We have seen enough from the third-year guard to understand who he is. Poole is streaky and he is learning. The most important thing is he gets out of his own way and allows the game to come to him. Things will slow down for Poole once he grows more accustomed to his new status as a premier scorer.