Getty Golden State Warriors star Jordan Poole and head coach Steve Kerr react during a game against the Detroit Pistons.
Jordan Poole’s existence with the Golden State Warriors has been something of a roller-coaster affair ever since the 23-year-old put pen to paper on his four-year extension worth up to $140 million.
One night, he’s one of the few bright spots during a loss to the Pistons, scoring 30 points and dropping five three-point bombs along the way. The next, he’s in single digits on 3-of-10 shooting in Tuesday’s road bout with the Heat.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler and Co. outscored the Bay Area crew by 23 points when he was on the court.
Poor shooting wasn’t the only thing that plagued Poole during the Dubs’ latest loss, however. He may have been roughed up by the Heat’s defensive front, but he was similarly stymied by the officials in their apparent attempt to enforce the league’s latest point of emphasis.
After the contest, Golden State’s locker room was noticeably peeved by how it all went down.
Poole & Coach Kerr Speak Out on Repeated Carrying Calls
JP’s IG story after being called three times for carrying
Poole committed five turnovers in the contest and three of them were the result of being whistled for carrying the ball. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr spoke of the league making the decision to crack down on players playing fast and loose with their handles.
However, Kerr clearly wasn’t down with the referees making an example out of Poole specifically. And the Warriors play-caller was equally miffed over the way the league seemingly disseminated information about the officiating initiative.
“I guess there was an email that went out today and honestly, I didn’t check my email,” Kerr said post-games, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “Like, we got a game today I’m not looking at emails. I was shocked because basically the whole league does that. They’ve been doing it ever since Allen Iverson convinced the referees that it wasn’t a carry.
“What Jordan does is a carry, but the whole league’s been doing it. I guess I got to start checking my email on game days.”
In a strange twist, Kerr eventually tracked down said email and revealed to 95.7 The Game’s Damon & Ratto that it said nothing about a focus on carrying violations. So, there’s that.
Elsewhere, Poole’s teammate — and occasional impromptu fight opponent — Draymond Green wants to see carries called universally.
Draymond Demands Equal Application
During his post-game presser, Green said the thing that just about everyone was doubt thinking every time Poole got whistled.
“If you gonna call that, you better call that because every guard in the NBA carries. A lot,” the baller said, again via NBC Sports. “Some of the best ball-handlers in the NBA carry often. So, if it’s a point of emphasis, then let’s see it. But I’m not sure how many I’ve seen all year and to see three in one game on one guy…”
He further decried how the carrying rule was applied to the Heat versus how the Warriors were governed.
“But they get one, I love Kyle [Lowry], I love Jimmy [Butler], they’re great. But they’re not not-carrying the whole game. So, if we only got one and I think it was on Caleb Martin, it can’t be too much of a point of emphasis. Would love to see it continue being called.”