Warriors: Has Poole’s ascension impacted Klay Thompson?

Klay Thompson has been jittery in his first postseason back for the Golden State Warriors. His peculiar slumps and costly mistakes have come at the same time as another Warrior, Jordan Poole, has made his rapid ascension into stardom.

Are the two things related?

Is there any correlation between Jordan Poole’s ascension and Klay Thompson’s recent slump? Or do the Golden State Warriors have nothing to worry about?

It might be easy to point towards Poole’s increased role as a reason for Thompson appearing out of place. The Warriors have never had to deal with three different shot creators attempting to gel in the backcourt — and the argument can be made that Klay’s quick trigger is a result of being less involved in the offense.

Poole has been incredible, even Thompson has acknowledged how brilliant of a player the young guard has become. Yet, over-enthusiastic plays and holding onto the ball a bit longer than Poole should have has already caused a few moments of frustration for Thompson.

Okay — but the Poole, Thompson, Stephen Curry lineup was so effective in round one? And, the three Splash Brothers all genuinely seem to get along. So, is there any truth to this theory?

For starters, the advanced analytics show not much has changed for Thompson since his last playoff outing. His usage, though down more than 5% since the regular season, is right around where it always has been in the playoffs (21%).

Poole, despite his astronomic rise in the offense, is still used less than Thompson according to the numbers.

However, one thing has stood out. Thompson and Poole are not working well together. The two-man lineup has an overall Net Rating of minus-3.4 despite a boost from the death lineup.

Poole/Thompson lineups in the Playoffs

• OFF RTNG: 112.3
• DEF RTNG: 115.7
• NET: -3.4

Poole/Thompson/Curry/Wiggins/Green lineup in the Playoffs

• OFF RTNG: 128.4
• DEF RTNG: 123.1
• NET: +5.4

More surprising, the three-guard lineup which was all the rave in round one has been an overall negative force for the Warriors, especially against Memphis, where their effectiveness has plummeted.

Poole/Thompson/Curry/Wiggins/Green lineups versus Memphis

• OFF RTNG: 83.2
• DEF RTNG: 134.8

What’s strange is the duo had found success together in the regular season and on a larger sample size. Though, many of their minutes together were shared without Curry — who was nurturing an ankle injury.

Poole/Thompson lineups in the Regular Season

• OFF RTNG: 112.1
• DEF RTNG: 107.1
• NET: +5.0

Is this a case of too many ball handlers on the floor at the same time? Do not forget, Wiggins and Green demand their fair share of touches, too.

Take a look at their numbers when Poole and Thompson are on the court but without Curry in the lineup.

Poole/Thompson (no Curry) lineups in the Playoffs

• OFF RTNG:121.6
• DEF RTNG: 109.1
• NET: +12.5

It should be noted that this is just one of a few different lineups the Warriors have deployed with Poole and Thompson — but no Curry. The success of each lineup varies drastically, but this held the largest sample size with 39 total minutes played together (Thompson, Poole, Green, Wiggins, Looney).

If this feels like a jumbled mess of analytics that doesn’t really paint a clear picture, it’s because it is.

While it might seem easy to point to the Warriors’ newfound trio as a reason for Klay’s struggles, and their lack of time together before starting the playoff surely has an impact, there just isn’t enough evidence to suggest that Poole’s emergence has led to a flustered version of Thompson.

If I had to guess, this is likely just a natural shooter’s slump that Klay will snap out of at one point or another.