Thompson: Jordan Poole is the Warriors key to getting by without Stephen Curry

May 2024 · 7 minute read

It was a fitting sequence to cap Jordan Poole’s performance. Klay Thompson drove the lane, with just over seven minutes left in the game, and missed a contested runner. Jonathan Kuminga wound up with the ball after a brief scramble and passed it to Poole, who was standing at the top 30 feet from the basket.

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Despite a defender coming at him, Poole didn’t have an ounce of rush in him.

He gradually stepped into rhythm, scanned the defense, lined the ball up in his hands and worked through his form. He calmly, almost matter-of-factly, drilled the 3-pointer. It was an illustration of composure.

Poole garnered a lot of praise for his performance in Monday’s rout of Oklahoma City.

“Incredible game,” Draymond Green said. “One of the best games, if not the best game, I’ve ever seen him play.”

“Jordan was magnificent,” Steve Kerr said. “One of the best games I’ve ever seen him play. Just was so under control.”

While his career-high 12 assists garnered all the attention, the real star of the show was that control. His decision-making. The simplicity of his floor game. His gaudy assist numbers were partially attributable to Thompson being in one of his zones. Poole rode that wave and fed the hot man. But that doesn’t explain why he was so good on this night. That explanation belongs to something intangible.

The game felt slower for Poole. He wasn’t speeding around like he often does, tight-roping the line between creativity and collision. It was as if he understood it was his show.

His performance wasn’t any kind of new territory. Poole has shown to be an effective playmaker since he returned from the G League. His 31 points and nine assists in Game 1 at Memphis in last year’s Western Conference semifinals was a window into his capacity. But what felt revelatory was his speed, more like a floor general than a change of pace. The “why” makes sense: with no Stephen Curry, Poole had no limits. He could afford to pick his spots. He knew over the course of his 30-plus minutes, he’d get an ample number of shots.

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It was exactly the Poole the Warriors need. Desperately. If they get this Poole while Curry is out with a leg injury, it would likely be more impactful than any addition the Warriors make by Thursday’s trade deadline. And even if they land someone, the Warriors will need this version of their young point guard to maximize their acquisition.

Poole has been here before and shined in a similar fashion. On March 16 of last year, Boston’s Marcus Smart dove into Curry’s leg and knocked him out for the remainder of the regular season. The Warriors, at the time, were in third place in the West — a game behind Memphis for the No. 2 seed and 3.5 games up on Utah and Dallas behind them. The expectation, without Curry, was that a slide would drop them in the standings, maybe even to the No. 6 seed. But the Warriors went 6-6 without Curry, holding on to the No. 3 seed. Poole’s playmaking was a central figure. He not only averaged 25.8 points but also assisted on 27.9 percent of the Warriors’ baskets while he was on the floor. For perspective, Curry averaged 25.5 points and assisted on 30.4 percent of the field goals when he was on the floor last season. It was a 12-game Curry impersonation.

The only question now is whether Poole can find the rhythm, as he called it, to do it again. It will be more challenging this time around. Opponents’ attention to and coverage of Poole have been effective this season. Also, the Warriors can ill-afford a prolonged losing streak while Curry recovers, so the pressure is ratcheted up. But this is all set up for Poole to, essentially, slow down and find his rhythm.

The ball will be in his hands. He’s locked in for 30 minutes and up. And Curry could be out as much as six weeks, giving Poole as many as 18 more games as the starting point guard.

In this first-quarter sequence from Monday’s game, the Warriors’ first without Curry since his latest injury, Poole shows no sign of eagerness. Quite the opposite, as he sets up this 3-pointer for Thompson.

If Poole comes out of the season having learned how to regulate the speed of his thinking on the court, it would be worth it. This sort of skill takes time. It’s made more difficult for Poole as he vacillates between starter and reserve. There is a reason he plays better when he’s starting. Young players don’t have unshakable confidence. The good ones never stop believing in themselves. But that notable certainty — I know who I am, I know what I’m doing, I know how to do it — takes time to develop. Insecurity is more likely considering their up-and-down minutes and how much they don’t know. Over time, young players come to learn themselves, their game and how they fit in.

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Coming off the bench, Poole sometimes plays like he feels the weight of having to make magic happen in his 24 minutes. But starting basically means he’s playing the bulk of the minutes. You can almost see the ease that brings him.

Things did not go so smoothly the last time Curry was out and it was Poole’s show. The Warriors went 6-5 in Curry’s 11-game absence earlier this year. But the record probably could’ve been better if Poole had played better. In January, he had rough outings in losses to Detroit and Orlando, and had a rough end against the visiting Hawks though the Warriors pulled it out in double overtime.

That’s what made Monday’s performance so encouraging. They need the best of him and, against OKC, he looked ready to deliver.

In this third-quarter sequence below, he’s pushing the ball in transition. He goes into a series of crossovers, which sometimes leads to a turnover. But this time, he’s much more upright and easy with it. Most importantly, his head is up the entire time. He sees where Andrew Wiggins is in the corner and executes a drive that draws the defender to him and away from Wiggins. Instead of trying to get all the way to the rim at all costs, he stops short, keeping the paint unclogged for Wiggins’ back-door cut.

His favorite assist of the night was another play he saw before it developed — which is a sign when his thought process is moving faster than his body usually does on the court.

That Oklahoma City performance was reminiscent of that seed-saving run from a year ago. Largely because Poole didn’t lean so heavily on his scoring. He was deferential early, taking advantage of the heater Thompson was on. Then, he turned up his offense, finding a rhythm and flow in the game. Even when he did that, he was still under control.

In these two plays below, there is nothing frantic about Poole’s game. No doubt, it helps that they are winning. But it’s the third quarter, Thompson has burned Oklahoma City to loosen the defense, and now Poole has the openings to attack. But he doesn’t attack with thirst.

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On the first clip, early in the second half, he loses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a high screen from Draymond Green in transition. Poole then takes his time, reads the defense and makes a decision. Thunder forward Jalen Williams is retreating, so Poole takes the easy floater. On the next clip, watch how calmly he curls off the screen. We’ve seen Poole running 200 miles per hour off screens and chucking. But here, he curls off with his head up, surveying. He recognizes Gilgeous-Alexander is not trailing him closely and Jaylin Williams is in drop coverage. Poole steps in for the cool, easy 3-pointer — feet set, legs into it, straight up and down.

The Thunder defense didn’t do much to speed up Poole. With Lu Dort out, Oklahoma City really didn’t have the physical, aggressive athletic defender who gives Poole problems. Other teams will. Then we will see how he handles it and if this cool disposition sticks.

Seven of the Warriors’ next 10 games are against teams either currently below .500 or barely above — beginning Wednesday night at Portland, which is barely above .500 at home. Six of those are at home. Which is to say if the Warriors get the version of Poole who bailed them out last season, and who came up big in the playoffs, and who seemed to have the Thunder in the palm of his hands, they just might survive this stretch without Curry.

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(Photo: John Hefti / AP)

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