Jordan Poole Struggles On Defence, Failing To Reach Potential

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to avoid this subject the entire season, therefore it must be spoken. Jordan Poole needs to significantly improve his defence.

Jordan Poole Struggles On Defence, Failing To Reach Potential

It would be ludicrous to blame a single player for the majority of the Golden State Warriors’ defensive issues, especially when they are on the road. Basketball is a team sport, but the team element is probably far more prominent on the defensive end of the floor. If there is even the tiniest bit of communication or coordination breakdown, the entire project will collapse in an instant.

The Warriors urgently needed Jordan Poole to perform at his best Friday night in Atlanta since four members of their ideal rotation were out due to injury. This was a fantastic chance for the X-factor to perform well.

Yet JP stayed in the same quagmire that continues to separate him from his great talent.

Poole wasted the remainder of the first quarter making two turnovers, missing his only two shots, and displaying a disregard for transition defence after entering with 6:09 left in the period and the Warriors leading the Hawks 23-16. It’s challenging to be minus-15 in less than six minutes when your team is outscored 23-8 in that time.

After the terrible beginning, JP’s situation improved, but he never ignited the way he occasionally does. He had eight points and a plus-4 in the third quarter, but just two free throws and a minus-5 in the fourth as Golden State’s rally fell short, culminating in a defeat of 127-119.

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In Atlanta, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, “We had a couple tough plays. “We had a couple turnovers down the stretch as well. We had a couple plays that we’d like to have back. But you can always say that at the end of every game.”

For his part, Poole finished with 12 points, on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, including 2 of 8 from deep, with four assists, three turnovers, two rebounds and posted a minus-11 over 24 minutes.

It’s not fantastic, although JP has recently been there. He had a negative four against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, a positive twelve against the Phoenix Suns on Monday, a negative eleven against the Milwaukee Bucks last Saturday, a negative 33 against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 9 in Memphis, and a negative three against the Thunder two days earlier in Oklahoma City.

The annoying JP has a combined minus-50 over the previous six games.

The excellent JP had a combined plus-67 during the previous five games.

Prior to then, he had a collective minus-40 rating in five games.

That has been the Jordan Poole experience this season, a zigzag trajectory, a perfect illustration of inconsistency.

Poole is too talented and has too many gifts, to accept being defined by his bad habits. But those bad habits keep resurfacing, and they are detrimental to him and the Warriors.

 

 

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