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Believe it or not, there are things happening in the Golden State Warriors‘ corner of the basketball globe that have nothing to do with punches being thrown or interns leaking video footage. On Sunday, for example, an actual basketball game was played.
The Dubs capped off their wild week by playing host to a shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers team at Chase Center. And heading into the contest, the big question was whether or not Klay Thompson would finally be back in the fold after not playing a single minute during the team’s recent trip to Japan.
In the end, head coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors brass opted to hold the five-time All-Star out for another game. And while that was bad news for the fans attending the game, it did afford Jordan Poole another opportunity to roll with the starting five.
Not only did Poole take advantage of the shot in a big, bad way, he also managed the raise the eyebrows of a certain former Warriors star and a future Hall of Famer.
KD Tweets About Poole’s Incredible Prowess on the Court
Amid a number of impressive moments, Poole’s best came during the third quarter when he hit forward Matt Ryan with a left-to-right shimmy above the break, drove into the heart of the defense, went behind his back with the ball and then nailed a right-handed teardrop while fading to the left side of the paint.
It was a maneuver that drew raves around the Association, including from ex-Dubs champ Kevin Durant, who tweeted, “Who thinks to do some s**t like this #boynice.”
Boy nice indeed.
In 23 minutes of play against Anthony Davis and Co., Poole scored a team-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, hitting three three-point shots along the way. The baller also added a team-high six assists, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot for good measure.
The bounce-back effort was a welcome development for Poole, who experienced more than his share of struggles during the aforementioned Far Eastern swing. He failed to reach double figures in each of the two contests against the Washington Wizards and was a combined 4-of-17 (or 23.5%) from the floor on the trip.
Of course, the Draymond Green kerfuffle is still fresh in everyone’s minds, too.
Poole In-Line for Huge Extension
There was little question about Poole’s ability to fill in for Durant and/or ball out with the starters before the recent stretch of preseason games. After all, he did it to perfection last season, averaging 20.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game across his 51 starts.
Still, he picked a pretty good time to have his best game of the exhibition slate so far, as the Dubs and Poole’s people attempt to hammer out the detail on a potential contract extension.
Whether or not they’re able to come to an agreement before the October 17 deadline for Poole’s new deal remains to be seen. For his part, though, Kerr seems to believe that something is going to get done.
“There’s a reason he’s in this position, about to sign a big extension hopefully,” Kerr said on Sunday. “He’s tough. Mentally tough and physically tough.”
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