The Golden State Warriors lost Game 1 of their series against the Los Angeles Lakers but things could have ended differently if not for an ill-advised shot.
With the Warriors trailing 115-112 in the closing stages, Jordan Poole attempted a deep three-pointer and missed it, which all but sealed their fate. Fans were furious with Poole but head coach Steve Kerr did not have a problem with that shot.
“I thought Jordan did a really good job,” Kerr said. “I had the timeouts left but I saw them double-teaming Steph at half-court, so I knew somebody was going to be wide open if we could just get the ball out and Steph did a great job. He got the ball out of the trap and Jordan was wide open. Pretty good look and that’s a shot he can hit. So, really happy with that possession. Jordan had hit six threes already, so it was a great shot for us.”
Steve Kerr calls JP's 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left "a great shot for us." pic.twitter.com/dcRzTCgITL
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 3, 2023
Poole had played pretty well up to that point, as he had scored 21 points and was 6-10 from beyond the arc before that shot. Even Stephen Curry, who was disappointed after that miss, said he did not have an issue with the shot selection.
“For sure, he had made six of them tonight,” Curry said when asked if he was fine with the shot. “We talked a little bit about certain adjustments you need to make throughout the course of the game to keep creating good looks. But it was decisive, it was a shot he was open. Considering how they guarded us that possession, trapping me at the halfcourt, Draymond (Green) swinging it over to him, it’s kind of in rhythm shot. I’m sure he felt pretty good about it, that’s why he shot it. There’s no kind of regrets on that. It’s just a make-or-miss type situation, (got) a lot of trust in his ability to put the ball in the basket.”
“A lot of trust in his ability to put the ball in the basket.”
Steph said he was fine with JP’s late missed 3-pointer pic.twitter.com/v6F5hilCDY
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 3, 2023
You’d ideally have wanted him to take the shot a bit closer to the line, but he just went with the flow and let it fly. The Warriors seem fine with his decision as they know he is capable of making it. Poole had also been their best shooter in the game at that point and with Curry being double-teamed, they’d probably have wanted him to take that decisive shot too.
Jordan Poole Finally Got Going In This Game
To say that Poole was disappointing in the series against the Sacramento Kings in the first round would be an understatement. He averaged just 12.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG in those seven games while shooting 33.8% from the field and 25.7% from beyond the arc.
There were real concerns about if he could find his best form in these playoffs and he did here. That shot aside, he played well and that bodes well for the Warriors for the rest of the series. They’ll be heavily relying on the three-pointer against the Lakers and need him to keep knocking them down at a good clip.
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