Golden State Warriors: Living with the Good and Bad of Jordan Poole

It’s exciting. It’s nerve-racking. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions. There’s little doubt of Jordan Poole’s talent — the Golden State Warriors made sure to lock him up with a four-year, $140 million extension in the offseason. Yet by the same token, the fourth-year guard is raising the heart rate of fans, and even his teammates, with a myriad of good and bad, smart and dumb basketball.

The 23-year-old had actually been fairly steady in the 46 minutes of Wednesday’s nationally-televised matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. He had 19 reasonably efficient points and seven assists, but combined it with three turnovers and the usual sub-standard defense — it wasn’t a noteworthy game on either end of the spectrum till that point.

Jordan Poole’s last 90 seconds against the Memphis Grizzlies almost proved a summation of the season to date for the Golden State Warriors’ guard.

With 1:18 on the clock, Golden State had just secured an offensive rebound while holding a two-point lead. Most would realise the situation — burn some clock, get the ball in your best player’s hands, and find a good look to extend the lead.

Not the confident and often brash Poole though. With Curry literally metres from him, he immediately launched a deep three that ultimately rimmed out. His superstar teammate turned to run back on defense initially, but in doing so ripped his mouthguard out and threw it aggressively — Curry was ejected at the most crucial time.

No one can understate the different perspective had the Warriors had went on to lose. But alas, Poole redeemed himself by breaking the tie with a game-winning layup. He walked back to the locker room where Curry was waiting — Poole mocked Curry by throwing his mouthpiece before the pair embraced in a fitting manner.

To be fair, Curry should have held his emotions in check after the ill-advised shot. However, it’s indicative in a way of who Poole is at this point — a lot of good, a lot of bad, and some ugly that’s pushed his teammates over the edge, even the usually level-headed Curry.

Wednesday night might’ve been NBA history — has any previous player caused their star teammate frustration to the point of ejection, then made a game-winning shot shortly after? That’s Poole though — although the Warriors will need more highs than lows from him for them to repeat as NBA champions, there’s an element of having to live with the inconsistencies of a still very young player.