Getty/Al Bello Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors embraces teammate Jordan Poole after breaking the record for most all-time three pointers in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Much of the Warriors’ offense is predicated on constant ball movement. During the dominant years, they consistently rank in the upper tier of field goal percentage, points, and assists. This season the team is back in the top tier in these categories. Since Steve Kerr took over head coaching duties in 2013, no player has averaged over 9 assists in a season.
With Klay Thompson back and healthy in the lineup, Kerr has been experimenting with Steph Curry, Thompson, and Jordan Poole on the floor together. In a small sample size of 74 minutes, the trio are outscoring opponents by 31 points.
After March 8 win against the Clippers, Curry told reporters that the trio playing together on the court should work out successfully, as long as they stay within the system.
“But as long as we are making the right play, being aggressive and letting the game come to us, there is enough shooting and playmaking that we can work off each other really well.”
The luxury of having stars Curry and Thompson play off the ball allows the Warriors the flexibility to try different lineups and see what works out best. After Draymond Green, Poole is the purest playmaker on the roster (outside of Andre Iguodala).
When the trio is on the floor, Poole’s usage goes up, mainly because the third-year guard is the ball handler. SB Nation’s Joe Viray goes in-depth about the potential of the Curry-Thompson-Poole trio lineup and is a fascinating analysis to what they could become.
Anthony Slater of the Athletic reports that Poole is expected to play more minutes as a ball handler, as he progresses with more minutes. Now in his third season, Poole has given the coaching staff confidence that he is capable of dictating the offense.
There’s been an internal push to give Poole more freedom, more time to run the operation. He is blossoming. Kerr has always shown hesitancy. It’s in his coaching nature, sometimes to a fault. It’s why Brad Wanamaker lasted so long ahead of Poole in the rotation last season and, even when Poole broke onto the scene, he had Nico Mannion out there for point guard duties.
This possibly means that the trio of the Splash Brothers and Poole will garner more minutes together. The front office is high on Poole, and has given him every ample opportunity to thrive in the Warriors’ offense.
Warriors Expected to Offer Poole Multi-Year Deal Worth Around $80 Million
Since the Warriors are investing so much to help Poole succeed, it should come as no surprise as to why the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the team is expected to offer the surging guard an extension this summer, with Spotrac estimating the deal to be around four-year, $80 million.
The Dubs front office has a lot of choices to make this offseason with the team having the highest luxury tax in the league. It would highly be unlikely for the team to keep their core intact. However, it seems like the team is set on keeping Poole as one of the cornerstones for the future.
Poole Does Not Lack Confidence
On March 7, the Warriors played a second night of a back-to-back in the high-altitude Rockies. The Warriors brass decided to rest the high minutes guys, so Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Otto Porter Jr. did not even make the trip.
The Dubs lost, but they kept it close throughout the night. Poole led the way with 32 points, 8-12 from downtown, and seven assists. However, he started the game a bit rough, turning the ball over three times in the first quarter. He only had two turnovers the rest of the game after, and none of those miscues fazed him one bit.
“You got to have a short memory,” Poole tells NBC Sport’s Monte Poole.
Poole is only in his third NBA season, but he already understands that it doesn’t do any good to dwell on mistakes, and its best to control what he can. Stars in the league understand this, and they all have mastered the skill of looking ahead.