Warriors guard Jordan Poole was put on blast after yesterday’s game, drawing criticism from players, fans, and analysts.
It all started with a play on Ja Morant, who suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter. In a clip that has made its rounds on social media, Poole appears to swipe at Morant’s knee — prompting the Grizzlies star to call him out after the game.
Ja Morant reacted to Jordan Poole grabbing his knee.
(via @JaMorant) pic.twitter.com/9XhvkPfYxG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2022
The whole thing blew up, and many prominent voices in the NBA community have spoken up about it.
On Sunday, it was Charles Barkley’s turn to chime in, and he didn’t hold back in his response.
“The notion he tried to hurt that kid, I’m not gonna live with that. Give me a break, man. Every call, Ernie, I’m watching the basketball game, every game it’s let’s see if it’s a flagrant, flagrant 1, flagrant 2…I’ve been kissed harder than that.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1523454970992873473
For what it’s worth, Poole did deny that he intentionally tried to hurt Morant, and it seems many agree.
“You know our mentality,” said Poole. “You know, make a play on the ball. It’s unfortunate. You never want to see that type of stuff. Obviously, it’s not done by – no one is out here dirty. No one is out here like that. But it’s just unfortunate … You know the code. Talk about the code all series at this point. It was a basketball play when we doubled him,” Poole said. “And I hit the ball, and I was going for the ball. I mean, obviously, you don’t want to see anybody get hurt. I’m not even that type of player. I respect everybody.”
However you feel about the situation, it is undeniable that this series has been one for the ages so far. As two of the top teams in the West, they’ve played some great basketball over the last few games, and it has only been topped by the intensity of their star players.
Game 4 is set for Monday, and it will be interesting to see if Memphis can tie things up and avoid a 3-1 hole.
