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“Once Klay is back” has been the Warriors’ rallying cry as they enter the 2021-22 season.
They’ll be contenders, once Klay returns. They’ll have that extra scoring blast, once Klay returns. Once Klay is back …
But before he returns, the Warriors must survive the first few months of the season. Over the past two years, the Warriors have struggled to find success as a starting goaltender. The 2019-20 season has been, well, disastrous for several reasons. Last season, Kelly Oubre Jr. never quite clicked.
But this season – as soon as it is – looks different. Jordan Poole’s integration into the starting lineup has been seamless, and his emergence throughout the preseason so far seems to suggest the Warriors should be OK until Thompson returns.
“It doesn’t matter who is out there, he’s going to let it fly, which I love,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “His confidence is overwhelming so that’s a good thing. He had a great camp, as we expected.”
Poole’s preseason performances keep repeating the same thing: he’s the real deal.
His 30-point performance against the Trail Blazers could still be attributed to the fact that he had an extremely hot shooting night. But then his 17 points against the Nuggets were almost all scored while driving to the hoop. His 28 points in the Warriors’ 121-114 win over the Lakers was a good mix of hot shooting and shrewd rim work.
Poole’s growth and understanding of the game continues to be fully visible.
“He was a very talented player coming out of the draft, so it was really about determining the speed of the game, figuring out what to do, where his shots might come from,” Kerr said. “We all talked about how hard he worked and I thought last year’s bubble in Orlando was really important to him.
“He was able to make mistakes and understand them… and then when he came back at the end of the year, he had a lot of self-confidence. He just carried it over to this year.”
But perhaps one of the most encouraging signs from Poole so far has been how he can coexist with Curry. Several players have said playing with Curry is not an easy adjustment.
Because he’s constantly on the move, it’s hard to predict where he’s looking to go, and therefore it’s hard to make sure you’re not in his path. Then there’s the added difficulty of snapping photos for yourself, while still making sure Steph is fully exploited.
Last year was a clear example of how being in a lineup with Curry – especially as a backcourt player – takes time to adjust.
Maybe it’s the fact that Poole has been with the Warriors for three years now, but he looks as comfortable as the pitch can share with the two-time MVP.
“I haven’t figured it out yet,” Poole said of secret tips for playing well next to Curry. “I mean, he’s unique, but he just tells me to go out there and play my game and he will play his. It really is that simple.
“It’s not like we’re trying to complicate things and only find Steph. He’s pretty good where he’s going to shoot and he’s going to open up. But they still want me to be aggressive. There really is. good cohesion there right now with the group we have. “
While Poole had his second game of 20 points so far – this time on 10 of 19 shots, including 6 of 13 of three – Curry finished with 30 points of 12 of 24 shots. Hitting just three threes, Curry has shown his driving ability.
“We have two playmakers on the field at the same time,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Two guys who can attack and go into the paint and move the ball around, so there’s a lot of attack generated with Steph and Jordan on the floor at the same time. They play out against each other pretty well. give each other a lot of space and you can see Jordan isn’t shy there. “
Poole has been as good a replacement for Thompson as the Warriors since his first injury in 2019. But they’re not the same player – which will be a good thing for Golden State.
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Thompson is a better shooter because he’s compared to most players, and is much more of a defender. Poole is a better driver than Thompson and attacks the rim much more often.
This makes Poole just as valuable when Thompson returns.
The differences in the skills of each player will allow for different warrior patterns and require opponents to change cover. And since Poole will come off the bench as the sixth man and leader of the second unit, there shouldn’t be as drastic a drop in score as there has been in the past.
But in the meantime, the combination of Poole and Curry in the starting backcourt turns out to have the potential to be lethal. They can withdraw from anywhere on the field and combine for an unholy number of points.
Until the Splash Brothers reunited – and even after – Poole established himself as part of the Splash family.
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