In a postseason full of disappointments for him, Jordan Poole might have hit rock bottom in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Poole finished with 0 points on 0-4 shooting from the field and was 0-2 from beyond the arc as the Golden State Warriors lost 107-104 to fall down 3-1. After the game, the Warriors’ locker was tension-filled when Poole spoke to the media.
“I happened to be in the locker room when Jordan Poole spoke,” said NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke. “It’s been a while since he spoke but before we get to the words that he said, let me just paint a picture of what that locker room was like. So the Warriors PR was coming over and saying ‘Jordan, could you please talk postgame?’ He seemed a little reluctant. You could tell he was very frustrated. He was facing his locker, actually, so as the reporters gathered around him, when it became clear he would talk to us, his back was to us.
“So we’re all kind of around him, the sides of him. He turned his music off for us, but that locker room, the visitor’s locker room is really cramped, so when that music went off, all of the other players were listening as well. You could see Andrew Wiggins, there was (Kevon) Looney right nearby and then GP2 (Gary Payton II) came to the locker. It was like all eyes and ears were on Jordan right there and it just heightened the tension.
“So, what did Jordan end up saying? Because we need to acknowledge that this hasn’t been a great series for him, maybe not even a great postseason for him. Something has happened to his shot. It’s just not there. We know that he has a good shot, but why is he struggling now? Why is he a little bit uncomfortable?
“Just reviewing some of the things he said. It’s pretty short answers. ‘My shot. I don’t know. If I knew, I would tell you.’ He didn’t want to talk about himself. He kept saying we have a game in a couple of days. I asked him, I was like ‘Jordan, we know your work ethic is good. When you feel like you’re in a little bit of a funk, when things don’t seem normal, what are you doing? Are you getting back in the gym?’ He said, ‘Well, my work ethic doesn’t change, my routine doesn’t change. Maybe opportunity changes but you can only control what you can control.’ So the frustration very clear coming through from Jordan Poole.”
.@KerithBurke describes a tension-filled locker room when Jordan Poole talked to the media pic.twitter.com/VCWpciaq3C
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 9, 2023
Poole’s shot has completely deserted him in these playoffs and he is clearly frustrated by it. He is now averaging just 10.5 PPG while shooting 34.2% from the field and 27.8% from beyond the arc in the 2023 playoffs. Stephen Curry had backed him prior to this game by stating that the team remained confident in Poole but the fact that he only played 10 minutes on Monday makes you believe they are losing faith.
His antics on the sidelines are quite concerning, too, as he was involved in a heated exchange with a Warriors coach previously. He then rejected Draymond Green’s handshake and ignored Curry in Game 6 against the Sacramento Kings.
Jordan Poole Has To Play Better If The Warriors Are To Turn Things Around
The Warriors could have won this game if they had gotten anything out of Poole, but they got nothing and are down 3-1. When they gave him a four-year, $140 million extension last year, they expected him to provide some firepower to help out Curry, but he hasn’t done that, with the exception of Game 1 where he had 21 points.
He has scored just 11 points in this series after that, and while he isn’t the main reason they’re losing, he is one of the bigger ones. If Poole flops the rest of the way too, then the Warriors might have to consider trading him, as Gilbert Arenas also suggested. Playing badly is not great in itself, but combine that with his attitude and the Warriors might start thinking of parting ways.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
