Golden State Warriors: 3 Upcoming challenges for Jordan Poole

Jordan Poole will need to defend at an adequate level

Jordan Poole has never really been considered a good defender. Though he has the length and lateral mobility to be a high-impact player on the perimeter, an inconsistent motor and occasional mental lapses has held Poole below his potential.

We’ll give Pool a pass for his rookie season, as most guards struggle defensively at that age and the Dubs were not exactly a sturdy defensive team themselves.  His sophomore season was not much better, though he settled into a role of doing just enough to fit in.

Now, in his third and most prolific season, Poole has overcome any deficiencies on defense by holding is own in lineups full of skilled defenders.  The Warriors are boasting an all-time great defensive unit with numerous wings to cover up for Poole.

The two-man lineup of Poole and Stephen Curry is posting a Defensive Rating of 100.2. Similarly, the trio of Poole, Curry and Andrew Wiggins has a rating of 100.8. Can they replicate this with the return of Klay Thompson?

Golden State does not have much of a sample size with three-guards this season but the 23 minutes of Poole, Curry and Gary Payton II are incredible encouraging (DEF RTG: 71.2). Toss Wiggins into that mix and that trio posted a rating of 51.6 in 12 minutes.

Again, a very small sample size. But, the dream of playing Poole alongside Wiggins, Curry and Thompson is an achievable one. Poole will just need to continue doing his job defensively in order to play closing minutes in the playoffs.