Jordan Poole’s return from the G League bubble to the Warriors will not be his last chance to take a role at Golden State, but it may be the best.
The 21-year-old, who the Warriors climbed to 28th overall in 2019, has probably never been more confident, as he entered Monday as the second top scorer in the G League (22.4 points per game out of 45, 1 percent pitches). He also didn’t have an opportunity like this, with the Warriors’ second unit practically begging for a good play and scoring as they try to climb the Western Conference standings.
Poole is not playing away in a lottery season, nor is he being played to the wolves as a wide-eyed newcomer. The guard can provide a necessary spark off the bench, as the Warriors suddenly started looking for one.
Golden State have hired veteran point guard Brad Wanamaker to be Steph Curry’s main reserve this season, mostly with defense in mind. Wanamaker has been a solid defender this season, and the Warriors’ defensive score in his 570 minutes is second only to Kent Bazemore (100.8) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (104.1) among the Warriors who played at least 200 minutes this season. season.
On the other hand, the Warriors’ 104.0 offensive rating with Wanamaker on the court is the second worst among that group, with Golden State posting only a lower offensive rating in James Wiseman’s 495 minutes (102.1). Wanamaker himself is throwing the worst of his career, 35.5% on the pitch and 22.2% on 3 points, averaging just 4.8 points per game.
Poole made just 31.9 percent of his triples between the G League and the NBA, and his assist / turnover ratio (0.82) is a far cry from Wanamaker’s (2.71) this season. But Poole is able to give the Warriors’ second unit a different look as the main ball handler.
The Warriors bench averaged 36.7 points per game in February, good enough for 11th place in the championship. However, that was almost three points less per game than January (39.6) and, although the bank published a collective net rating (1.3), it was almost two points per 100 possessions worse than the previous month. (3.2). With two games – consecutive, no less – remaining before the All-Star break, now may be the right time for coach Steve Kerr to see that Poole is not new, but even better he can bring to the second unit.
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Golden State basketball operations president and general manager Bob Myers said last month that Poole’s scoring and playing skills are hard to come by, and that the guard has a unique chance to show the Warriors how valuable they are. Yours. Poole is the only reserve guard with a fully guaranteed contract for the next season, and he can make a strong case for a higher place in the hierarchy when Klay Thompson returns in 2021-22 and Golden State expectations rise accordingly.
In the meantime, the Warriors could use Poole off the bench now. He can help Golden State solidify itself as a playoff candidate, while solidifying its future. Poole’s first two seasons with the Warriors have been characterized by slow progress and he has a real chance of accelerating his development.
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