Getty Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors find themselves in a very tricky situation. After a season full of struggles and subpar play, they are now going to be forced to deal with an injury to Stephen Curry. The star point guard will miss a few weeks due to a shoulder injury.
With Curry on the sidelines, the rest of the team is going to be forced to step up. He’s been the unquestioned leader of the Warriors this year, and without him, scoring is going to have to come from other places. After the team’s recent loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Kevon Looney said that Jordan Poole will need to play a big role with Curry out.
“Sometimes when he doesn’t get it going in the first half, he might get down on himself,” Looney said. “He didn’t shoot a lot of shots, he let the game come to him and in the second half he really took over and gave us that punch that we needed. That’s what he expect from him. He’s a great player and he steps up in big games and big moments. With Steph being out, he’s gonna have a lot more on his shoulders, and I think he’s ready for it.”
The Warriors drafted Poole with the 28th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Since then, he’s emerged as one of the brightest young stars in the league. Last year, he played an integral part in the Warriors’ finals run, and when Curry missed time, he stepped into the starting role seamlessly.
So far this year, he hasn’t been quite as effective. But despite the dip in efficiency, he’s still a crucial part of the Warriors’ short-term and long-term plans. He’s appeared in all 30 of the team’s games this year and is playing 28.6 minutes per contest. The guard is averaging 18.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game on 42.7% shooting from the field and 32.4% shooting from behind the three-point line.
Klay Thompson on Pressure After Stephen Curry Injury
Poole has been looked at as the heir apparent to Curry, which means it makes a ton of sense for him to take over his scoring load. But he’s far from the only player on the Warriors that will need to step up while Curry is out.
Klay Thompson will also need to take on a larger role. That being said, he doesn’t plan to put any extra pressure on himself.
“I’m not going to put any extra pressure on myself,” Thompson said via Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I’m going to go out there play my game, trust my teammates. I’m not going to add extra pressure to score a certain amount, carry the team. I’ll just get in my own way.”
Stephen Curry Breaks Silence on Injury
With the Warriors struggling, an injury to their star point guard couldn’t have come at a worse time. However, Curry recently broke his silence on the issue, noting that he’s “just trying to stay positive.”
“Just trying to stay positive and understand I’ll be back sooner than later, hopefully. And hopefully, I won’t miss a beat in terms of the rest of my body and my game with how I’ve been playing.”
