Warriors need Jordan Poole to flush ‘frustrating night’ and prepare for
pivotal Game 7
The Warriors need more from everyone in Game 7, but especially Jordan Poole.
>Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3) shoots a basket past
Sacramento Kings’ Trey Lyles (41) during the third quarter of Game 6 of
the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April 28, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay
Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 29, 2023 at 1:45 p.m. | UPDATED: April 29, 2023 at 4:23
p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/29/warriors-need-jordan-poole-to-flush-frustrating-night-and-prepare-for-pivotal-game-7/

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson knows what it’s like to struggle on some
of basketball’s biggest stages.

So in the wake of Jordan Poole’s rough showing Friday night, Thompson
offered some perspective and support for the fourth-year guard.

“We’ve all been there. I’ve had terrible slumps during playoffs, the
Olympics, at the highest level,” Thompson said after the Warriors’
stunning 118-99 loss. “Jordan is only 23 years old. We lose as a team;
we win as a team. It wasn’t on just JP tonight. He could come out and
get 30 effortlessly on Sunday.”

The hope heading into this season was that Poole would build off his
2021-22 success, which earned him a $140 million extension that’ll kick
in next season. Yes, he’s faced more defensive pressure from opponents
than a year ago. But his inconsistency has left many scratching their
heads and put his long-term future with Golden State in question.

The Warriors can live with Poole being a liability on defense when he’s
being effective on offense. But the numerous blow-bys on the defensive
end in Friday night’s loss were tougher to swallow when Poole scored
only seven points on 11 shots.

Poole went 2 of 11 from the field, had one assist, two steals and one
turnover before ultimately finishing the night a minus-14 in 26 minutes
of action.

“Jordan never really got going tonight unfortunately,” coach Steve Kerr
said. “He got a little frustrated early. He had a couple plays where he
didn’t get calls and he was trying to attack and couldn’t quite shake
free, so just a frustrating night for him.”

The Warriors, of course, maintain confidence in Poole.

“He’s a great player, and he helped us win a championship last year,”
Thompson said. “And if we want to do that again, he will do the same
this year.”

Stephen Curry shared Thompson’s sentiment, adding, “We need him. He’s
more than capable, and has shown the ability to impact games.”

But the Warriors need the version of Poole who played a key part in last
year’s title run by knocking down big shots and making plays, not the
one who has a tendancy to play too fast and not within the flow of the game.

Coaches and veterans often preach the importance of having a “next-play
mentality” to young players who are trying to get their footing. But
that mindset is even more vital in a best-of-seven series when the
stakes are so high.

Curry stressed that Friday night, saying it’s critical that everyone,
including Poole, isn’t “a victim of the last game.

“You always can kind of bounce back,” Curry said. “I have nothing but
confidence in his ability to do that and understand to bring the right
energy for this next game. So we have all kind of been there and been
through those growing pains of a playoff experience, and it happens, but
we all can play better, and we all got to play better if we’re going to
win on Sunday.”

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Game 7 presents an opportunity for Poole to make it right, and whether
he can will play a factor in Sunday’s results. But because of the
previous six games, Kerr might be forced to make a change for Sunday’s
winner-takes-all game.

Draymond Green showed good faith after his Game 3 suspension, marching
into the Warriors coach’s office to suggest the 33-year-old veteran come
off the bench in the next game.

It worked twice more, setting up an opportunity to close-out the
first-round series at Chase Center.

But the Warriors got burned Friday.

It would be foolish and wrong to put the blame solely on Poole for
Friday’s loss. The Warriors, collectively, looked sluggish from the jump
and might’ve let their Game 5 win — as well as their confidence stemming
from the team’s ample playoff experience — get to their heads. The
Warriors didn’t show a will to win, while the Kings played with pure
desperation.

“It was a poor night for all of us, including me,” Kerr said. “We always
say, we win together, we lose together, and this was a team effort that
includes players and coaches, and the Kings outplayed us, out coached
us, deserved to win.”

The Warriors can’t afford to let that happen in their do-or-die
situation Sunday.

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter
Madeline Kenney is the Bay Area News Group's Golden State Warriors beat
reporter for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. A Nebraska native, she
is graduate of Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a Bachelor in
Communication degree, with a major in broadcast journalism and minors in
sports management and marketing, and is a friend of Sister Jean, the
103-year-old nun who became famous during the Ramblers’ 2018 run to the
Final Four, Madeline previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times
covering everything from sports to crime and politics. When she’s not
working, she enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring the great outdoors.