After scoring just 11 total points in Games 2 and 3, Warriors guard Jordan Poole had his worst game of the postseason on Monday vs. the Lakers. Playing a season-low 10 minutes, Poole went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and committed a pair of turnovers.
As Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area relays (via Twitter video), Poole was clearly frustrated when reporters approached him after the game and offered only brief responses to their inquiries. He deflected questions about his own play and focused on the fact that the Warriors will get a chance at home on Wednesday to start climbing out of their 3-1 hole.
While Poole isn’t one of Golden State’s superstars and shouldn’t necessarily bear the brunt of the blame for the team’s struggles in the series thus far, his “lack of playoff toughness and lack of interest” in speaking to the media about his performance make it seem like he’s “something less than a full partner in the Warriors’ operation these days,” writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. That’s troubling, given that the guard’s four-year, $123MM+ contract extension will go into effect this July.
In explaining his decision to only play Poole for 10 minutes on Monday, head coach Steve Kerr expressed confidence in the 23-year-old’s ability to bounce back later this week.
“It just wasn’t his night,” Kerr said, per Kawakami. “He didn’t have it going. It’s a game where you’re going possession by possession and we had other guys who were playing well. Moses (Moody) came in, did a great job. Donte (DiVincenzo) gave us good minutes. Gary (Payton II) obviously starting the game really gave us a lift. Just we went to other guys. That doesn’t mean Jordan can’t come in and play a big role in Game 5.”
Here’s more on the Dubs:
- The Warriors have come back from a 3-1 deficit once before in the playoffs with their current core, winning three straight games to steal the Western Conference Finals from the Thunder in 2016. They pointed to that series as one reason why they remain hopeful about their chances against the Lakers, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com. “We made history before,” Thompson said. “The goal is to win one at home. We know we are capable of taking care of home court. It’s about staying present and not looking ahead. It’s fun to reflect on the past and learn from it and take that same competitive energy that brought us back in the past to today.”
- There’s more at stake for the Warriors in this series than just the possible end of their season, notes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. President of basketball operations Bob Myers is on an expiring deal, Draymond Green holds a player option for 2023/24, and Klay Thompson is eligible for an offseason extension at the same time that the NBA is introducing a Collective Bargaining Agreement that introduces new limitations on the teams with the highest payrolls. In other words, a second-round exit could be the beginning of the end of Golden State’s dynasty, as the team faces an uncertain offseason.
- Having finished the season on a two-way contract, Warriors guard Lester Quinones has been ineligible to play for the team in the playoffs, but he’s thrilled with how 2022/23 played out, as he tells Joe DiProsperos of NBAGLeague.com. He was named the G League’s Most Improved Player and appeared in his first NBA game for the team he grew up rooting for. “To get (to the NBA) and be on the same team that I grew up watching my whole life, it’s just a blessing,” said Quinones, who will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
30 m a year I wonder if the dubs get somehow bailed out on this and if so by whom
This summer would be the time to do it and receive value. If he has a stinker next year which I don’t think he would, that contract is an albatross of the worst degree.
When it’s all done and said, the narrative will be that this season was doomed since the punch heard ‘round the world in training camp (which is true).
Draymond will be in the east next year (Detroit?) and Klay wants to play with the Lakers.
GSW will not necessarily have a new look, but definitely a different look next season.
I think Poole will be gone. They got Wiggins for D’lo so they should be able to flip him for somebody that fits the team
When he’s a starter, he’s actually got pretty good stats. It’s when he comes off the bench that it looks pretty putrid.
Draymond is bum now. They need to release him today
It’s all on Kerr. He’s the one who wants a roster with fifteen 6’1″ guards on it. This is a team made up almost entirely of shooting guards. Why? Only 1 true PG in Curry but no actual PG backup? Looney being the only C/PF? Roster construction bent the knee to the moron Kerr too much. If Kerr didn’t have 900 SG’s, Poole would get more playing time. This team has the talent to easily destroy everyone, but Kerr will always stand in the way with his utterly moronic “constantly changing rotations” that never even works in playoff games. Why does Kerr refuse to play anyone over 40 minutes ever, including in the playoffs when your season is on the line? Why is he constantly blaming Kuminga for everything when all he does is ball out?
FIRE. STEVE . KERR.
LoL, Poole is playing super poorly, he has regressed all season and is looking unplayable in the playoffs. Even against SAC he was bad.
Kerr is top #5 coach in the league, nobody is perfect, but blaming him is not right at all.
HE. HAS. 4. CHAMPIONSHIPS.
There’s not a single 6-1 player on the Warriors roster.
Moron? Moronic? You are so quick and loose with your demeaning language, and your hyperbole is uncalled for.
They’ll be fine, they’ll win the next game at home and the season will ride on what they do in game 6 in LA. The two close games have been Laker victories by a small margin. Totally confident they are capable of pulling it off in game 6 in Los Angeles. Then game 7 belongs to the Warriors at home.
CURRY HAS 4 CHAMPIONSHIPS – HE BAILED KERR OUT EVERY TIME. Kerr has no rings he helped win. His only true NBA talent level is shown when he was GM on the Suns.
I said “Kerr WANTS to” as in, he literally played
DiVincenzo, Moody, Poole, Curry and 1 big – my point is Kerr has been edging from playing his stupid 3 guard lineups that dont work, to now 4 G lineups that still dont win, his ultimate goal is 5 guards that win games, its ridiculous, its his end game because he’s an egomaniac and always has been. In Kerr’s mind Curry is only like 5% better than he was, but he wants to win with 5 Steve Kerr’s. Its infuriating to watch. All he has to do is play Kuminga with the stars and we win.
Your takes are boring and predictable. We get it, you’re Asfan’s alt. Go back to confusing Anthony and Jeremy Lamb.
@EonADS there’s a mute button if you don’t like my takes. Your replys are cowardly, just ignore and move on like a regular person.
Cowardly? What exactly do have I to be afraid of? I enjoy reading actual discussion, and I think you’re capable of doing better than this.
I don’t lol
You know that GSW can’t play 2 non shooters at the same time against the Lakers, right? That’s why they lost Game 1, Kerr made adjustments and they were better the other games.
You know they are down 3-1 by playing this way and youre defending them, right? Just checking.
Btw they are playing like utter trash, as these stupid almost-all-guard lineups are getting wrecked by AD and Bron.
First of all, youn know that one team has to win, right?
2nd, the Lakers were a terrible matchup for GSW and everyone knew that.
3rd, look at the stats of that lineup with 2 bigs in this series. If Kerr plays those lineups more time the Lakers would have won blowout games, Kerr’s adjustements made the last three games more competitive.
4th two of the loses were close games that could gone either way, they were failing on execution late game
Do you seriously think Warriors can win 3 straight against Lebron and the Lakers.
James has never lost when leading 3-1.
I think this series is over in 6.
The Warriors have the talent to beat everyone… but aren’t because Steve Kerr doesn’t understand rotations…
I guarantee you were spouting all sorts of love and gratitude last year during the death lineup phase. Boy how one year makes a difference lol
Lol, Poole living off those regular season stats
Poole’s entire career is because of Kerr only wanting to play SGs all the time, and he got the playing time over the more deserving Kuminga and Moody. Something to think about…
“Only?”
Inaccurate. I believe Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are everyday starters all year long and they are NOT shooting guards.
Yes, I said its Kerr’s insane end game to play 5 small guards, he has to play Dray and Loon because he’d get fired on the spot, but holy crud man, WHY are we watching 4 guard lineups for ANY reason???? THEY DONT WIN.
Kerr is a loser, he admitted he loved coaching the 15-50 season more the playoffs, KD admitted he hated Kerr’s style, Kerr is the ultimate in piggybacking off others generational talents in Chicago, San An and now GSW, if you cant see it you are blind. MJ socked him in the face and all GSW should now know why.
If GSW kept MJax Curry would have 7 rings right now. Any HC knows you play your HOFers 40+ min in the playoffs if they are in their primes and not injured.
Blaming Kerr is not the problem. There is a lot of blame to go around. Blame Meyers for Poole getting that contract because it was Meyers own ego that paid out Poole that much. Even Curry was exposed last night on defense as Walker and leBron targeted him.
Okay say that you’re right about Steve Kerr. Who do you hire in his place? I don’t think the grass is greener elsewhere.
@Gary – great way to direct this convo before it gets off the rails. As GSW fans we both watch the games, and in the games we lose, take a look at who is coaching the teams who beat us – while a great deal of those losses are self-inflicted, Kerr simply loves benching his stars and playing bad players like Chiozza last year – because Kerr admitted he loves losing – so his style leaves him exposed for superior coaches to cook him. The Kings had no business winning any of those games, so off top I’ll take Mike Brown over Kerr, and I’ll also even take Walton over Kerr (I remember Walton getting a better record out of the team than Steve). I will take Ty Lue over Kerr too. I will not take Bud in Milwaukee (deserved to be fired, like Kerr), or Ime Udoka, but there’s dozens out there who clear Kerr.
Steve Kerr has never coached a basketball team at any level that did not have Stephen Curry on it. Isn’t that enough? 4-2 is bad when you have the GOAT, it should have been 6-0 and would have been had Kerr not been the HC.
There’s only one coach in the league I’d take over Kerr, that’s his mentor Greg Popovich and I don’t think he’s going anywhere.
Kerr brought in his motion offense which unleashed Curry, before that he was just another undersized guard with ankle problems that could shoot a bit. Kerr saw his potential and ran with it.
I know they blame Kerr for how bad the team is playing. Off season will be a transition year. fact is they played inconsistent all year long so why do people think they can change.
@ARC 2 – you said “they played inconsistent” but cant couple that with Kerr relentlessly using 200 different rotations a game? How can you not see the forest from the trees? Players cant get consistent if they’re off the court.
You live in a pit of denial. I told you that you weren’t gonna have fun before the series started. Glad to see I was right
13Morgs, unfortunately you’re right. He has crumbled when they’ve needed him most. I wonder what the difference is between last year and this year? Hope they have it figured out in the next 6 days.
Big changes ahead if they lose to lakers. Meyers returning will all come down to them getting past the lakers. Poole will be offered up in trade. No guarantee Green will be back. Even Thompson could be on the trade market.
I will not panic that hard, but i think they should try to trade Poole. He can thrive IMO in other team, his defens is one of the worst i have seen and hist attitude is really bad overall, maybe those things can be fixed in another enviroment.
Klay should take a little paycut and Green aswell, if they refuse to GSW should look to move them
All true ARC. I think the guarantee is that Draymond Green hits the road. Probably 50/50 on Bob Myers. Depends whether Joe Lacob wants to pay him or not. Probably willing to pay as long as Steph Curry is around then later he may scale it back.
Klay Thompson could be traded this summer or make one more run then let him walk after next year. 25% chance he’s traded.
Jordan Poole another 50/50. He stinks it up Thursday night and he could have one foot out the door and another foot on a banana peel.
If Myers is gone, Kerr will be too – then Draymond stays as player coach – my DREAM!!
I think Wiggins and Poole are traded, with Lebron and Bronny coming to GSW to play with Draymond.
I’ve liked Poole since the 2019 draft when the stupid Celtics passed on him twice. It cost them the Finals. Poole was effective off the bench while Grant Williams was invisible and Romeo Langford was no longer with the team. That said, Poole’s performance in the current playoffs is shocking. If anyone remembers Invasion of the Body Snatchers, you know what I mean. That said, Curry and Klay have been awful overall this postseason.
It’s simple: you cant play Poole and Curry together for any reason other than against last seasons Celtics.
Klay has been incredibly bad this series but Steph has been incredible this postseason, you are crazy.
The problem you have is that you are confusing scoring with shooting. It’s a common mistake among fans. Take last night’s game. Curry scored 31 pts. People like you see that and say that he was great. I look at his 3/14 3pt shooting and 12/30 overall and I say he was woefully inefficient. Since GS lost by only 3 pts, Curry was a major culprit. This postseason, Curry is shooting 37.9% of his threes. That is 20 points below his career playoff average. When Curry’s playoff 3pt% is 39.5% or higher, the Warriors win the NBA Finals. The reality is that Poole, Curry, and Klay aren’t making enough threes and that’s the reason the Kings took them to G7 and the Lakers are up 3/1.
Ok I disagree with most of that because I know this game more than just “a fan” and I know the difference between scoring and shooting, which is an asinine useless personal attack on me which is untrue, I know exactly what the different between scoring and shooting is, but you saved it with the last line, which also backs up my statement that Kerr is horrible at coaching. Like, really “Let them bomb 3’s til we win” really is his only move and if you can nullify that, or if they shoot bad, then GSW looks like this series.
The reality is, Golden State is done. The players are too old and they lack the depth, talent and guts that it takes to win a title.
“The players are too old and they lack the depth, talent and guts that it takes to win a title.”
Lol they just won the title last year. The Curry Warriors have won more titles than most franchises combined. So, they clearly know what it takes to win championships.
No team can win a title every year. So it’s unfair to expect that the Warriors win a title every year.
Curry awful in the post season? Lol
The team hasn’t looked good all year but the Curry has been playing on a high level.
He scored the most points in a Game 7 in NBA Playoff history. He’s the reason why Warriors are even in the second round.
Curry had a 30 point triple double in game 4 vs the Lakers. Thompson only had 9 points and Poole was scoreless.
At the end of the day, basketball is a team game. Lonnie Walker is the main reason why Lakers won game 4.
Umm … Curry has been pretty amazing this postseason LOL.
One player for GS to keep an eye on is Kristaps Porzingis. He was started his NBA career with some lousy Knicks teams, tore his ACL, dealt to Dallas where he wasn’t a good fit, and is now wasting away with the Wizards. Both Greens are cooked and KP would be a great fit as a stretch big. He’s got a player option for $36mil. I’m assuming he accepts. If GS offers Kuminga and Moody, plus DG’s contract, I think the Wizz will go for it.
Wiz will say yes 100% but GSW shouldn’t do that, unless Green asks for too much money to resign.
Green has been his defensive anchor every season, if they move him for KP there defense will be atrocious IMO.
You got it backwards. Green sucks right now and GS won its titles on the platform of three point shooting. The Wizz would take Green only to make the dollars match. They have no interest in him otherwise. It’s Kuminga and Moody that drive the deal. KP is a good stretch big who can make threes and with Looney remaining inside, it’s a great match. Moreover, KP is a great defensive rebounder and most stops end with a D-board. GS has hitched its wagon on Curry and Klay. Moody and Kuminga’s contractual future doesn’t synch up.
They need to have San Francisco PD on standby if warriors lose. Draymond will not take it well and could become extremely violent. We have seen him react before. There is precedent. I just pray for the families of Northern California…
His contract is looking worse than porters
Klay last 3 pts attempts were so dumb …