Jordan Poole shows poise, production in first game since Steph Curry injury - Yahoo Sports

Poole shows poise, production in first game since Steph injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

PHILADELPHIA -- The Warriors' first game following Steph Curry's left shoulder subluxation had one main focus: How would Jordan Poole respond in Curry's absence?

His start to the Warriors' eventual 118-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center wasn't exactly red-hot. Donte DiVincenzo actually was one who looked to be doing his best Curry impersonation. DiVincenzo scored 15 points in the first quarter alone on five 3-pointers.

That was good for his most career 3-pointers in an entire game this season, and his most points scored in any quarter of his career.

Poole only contributed two points in the first quarter on two shots. Going into halftime, he had scored eight points but was 3-for-8 from field and 1-for-3 from deep. The third quarter was where his scoring exploded. What stood out more to Warriors coach Steve Kerr was the 23-year-old's composure.

"I thought he was much better in terms of just staying poised," Kerr said. "He got off to a slow start, and he did a better job of not getting frustrated and staying in the game emotionally and bringing energy. The gamed turned for him, and he obviously carried us offensively for much of the game."

Fellow Milwaukee native, teammate and close friend Kevon Looney felt Poole played "really, really good." Then, he echoed Kerr.

Unprompted, Looney also pointed out Poole's poise while mentioning his history of letting his emotions get to him, affecting his game at times.

"Sometimes when he doesn't get it going in the first half, he might get down on himself," Looney said. "He didn't shoot a lot of shots, he let the game come to him and in the second half he really took over and gave us that punch that we needed. That's what he expect from him.

"He's a great player and he steps up in big games and big moments. With Steph being out, he's gonna have a lot more on his shoulders, and I think he's ready for it."

Poole played a game-high 37 minutes and scored a team-high 29 points. In his first game with Curry stuck to cheering his teammates on in a sweatsuit, Poole made 10 of his 20 shot attempts and went 4-for-9 on 3-point attempts.

After scoring 38 points in the first quarter, the Warriors' offense sputtered to a 19-point second quarter. In the third quarter, that number grew to 24 points, but it still was nine points fewer than the Sixers. That wasn't to the fault of Poole.

Playing the entire duration of the third quarter, Poole scored 15 points in the third quarter. Over those 12 minutes, he went 5-for-8 from the field and made three of his four 3-pointers. He also made back-to-back threes, giving the Warriors a six-point lead at the 8:37 mark to force a Doc Rivers timeout.

Kerr highlighted Poole's need to slow down and remain in control after the Warriors' loss in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. Curry, during Warriors shootaround earlier Friday, pointed out Poole's desire to play more efficiently and consistently.

The efficiency was there in the third quarter and the second half as a whole, with Poole scoring 21 of his 29 points in the final two periods, and there are desires that consistency will come as well. Poole himself felt his pace was where it needed to be in that impressive third quarter, but only three other Warriors scored and none more than four points.

"It was definitely a point of emphasis, personally," Poole said. "Individually, just trying to find ways to continue to better my game. That’s something I want to focus on. Just being able to lean on pick-and-rolls or bring the ball up and see the offense throughout the game, see different coverages.

"Just trying to pick up my pace a little bit and use these games as reps to try to put my teammates in good situations and get everybody going."

Coming into the night, one of Poole's biggest struggles had been missing the mark beyond the arc. He was shooting 31.9 percent prior to playing in Philadelphia and was 1-for-7 from long range two nights prior. That's a 4.5-percent dip from last season.

He also is trending up -- overall, and with 3-point shot.

This marked Poole's seventh game of scoring 20 or more points in December, out of a possible eight games. The only time he has fallen behind the mark, he put up 18 points in Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In that eight-game span, he also has shot 45.0 percent from the field and 36.5 percent on threes, which is slightly better in both respects than his 2021-22 breakout campaign.

So, have there been any fundamental changes to the work he and assistant coach Chris DeMarco are putting in? Not exactly. Results aren't always that simple.

"Just keep shooting the same shots I've been shooting," Poole said. "All the shots that I shoot, every last one of them, I practice. I feel comfortable shooting every shot. Think I shot seven threes last game. It felt the same, just made four tonight.

"I don't know, just try to make shots, essentially, for our team and try and help us and put us in a position to win."

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Poole now has started 11 games this season and is averaging 25.4 points per game as one of Kerr's first five players. In his usual Sixth Man role, Poole has averaged 14.1 points. With Curry expected to miss a few weeks, Poole will be entrenched firmly in the starting lineup, and his game is starting to match how he performed with Curry sidelined at the end of last season, as is his poise.

That's what mattered most to Kerr regarding Poole's night, and there isn't too much to complain about Poole's response to the start of him shouldering a much bigger load. It isn't going to get easier, but he's been here before and proved once again what he can produce for a team begging for wins right now.

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2022-12-17 16:19:00Z
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