Poole fits in quite nicely for Warriors
After two preseason games, the Warriors will go on the road next week for the next round of exhibitions against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Here are a few takeaways before the team hits the runway. POOLE IS A PLAYER >> Rookie guard Jordan Poole has a swagger about him — a confidence teammates and coaches have been raving about since the start of training camp.
“He’s really advanced,” Draymond Green said. “He’s very good with the basketball and he can shoot it, which is obviously at a premium in this league today, but he can really create shots for himself and can really stretch and space the floor out.”
Poole was a standout in the Warriors’ first two preseason games, putting up 17 and 19 points, shooting nearly 48 percent from the field and making seven of his 16 3-pointers. Yes, a rookie guard on the same team as Stephen Curry, who dropped 40 points on the Timberwolves in just 25 minutes on Thursday night, and D’Angelo Russell is somehow finding the air time to launch eight 3s per game. It helps that he’s hitting them at a near 44 percent rate.
It also helps that Curry and Russell have rested for most of the second halves, giving Poole alone time in the deep end, but he’s showing he could be more than a gunner. He’s flashed secondary and even primary playmaking skills and, with two steals in the preseason, an ability to be disruptive on defense. Poole is a fasttwitch player who makes quick decisions. Those skills will serve him well in Golden State.
CHRISS IS THE BEST CENTER AVAILABLE >> While Kevon Looney (hamstring) and Willie Cauley-Stein (foot) remain sidelined with preseason injuries, the Warriors have rotated a trio of newcomers at center: Omari Spellman, Marquese Chriss and Eric Paschall. All have an opportunity to grab some early minutes, but it’s been Chriss who has stood out, potentially causing a tough roster decision for the front office.
The Warriors offense will still call for the center to set screens and pass out of the paint in order to trigger op- portunities for the guards. Chriss, who started in the second preseason game, is showing he’s comfortable in those spots, setting screens and running dribble handoffs.
“I feel extremely comfortable here. Coach Kerr has put me in a situation where I can play. It’s easy when all I really need to be is the energy guy, set screens and get Steph open,” Chriss said.
Kerr noted: “He’s got more skill as a passer and a screener than I realized.”
As the Warriors sift through their options, they may have to find a way to keep Chriss. Cauley-Stein may not be available until next month, and there is no timetable for Looney’s return, which means they could have a hole to fill at center on opening night. Chriss has been the best option through two games, but is on a non-guaranteed contract for training camp.
To keep him, the War- riors would either have to waive Alfonzo McKinnie (a player who started for them in the NBA Finals) or convince Chriss to accept a two-way roster spot -- an option he’d be open to.
“I want to be in the NBA right now,” Chriss said. “So, I think if it comes down to it, that’s something I’d have to consider, that’s something I’d have to think about, but I just want to make the most of this opportunity and build from it.”
The Warriors will have to figure something out because at this moment, amazingly enough, Chriss seems indispensable.
THE STAGGER WILL BE KEY >> Thursday’s win against the Timberwolves may have provided the template for how Kerr plans to stagger Curry’s and Russell’s minutes.
Curry played the entire first quarter, with Russell resting for the final three minutes. To start the second quarter, Curry was on the bench and Russell led the offense. After a few more substitutions, the two were back on the court together for the final three minutes of the half. It’s a substitution pattern that will keep the two point guards separated for long stretches while still closing games together.
Though the two are still feeling out how to play off each other, they seemed much more comfortable when playing on their own.
Russell had his best year as a pro last season with the Brooklyn Nets, running an offense that featured a heavy dose of pick-and-roll. The Warriors famously run the pick-and-roll at one of the lowest rates in the league.
When Russell led the offense in the team’s second preseason game, however, the volume of pick-and-roll was stark. Seemingly every possession was bow-tied by Russell coming off a screen set by rookie forward Paschall. There was a simplicity to it and, for the first time, Russell seemed comfortable.
Keeping an All-Star-caliber point guard on the floor at all times is sound strategy -- one the Houston Rockets used to rack up 50-plus wins in each of the last two seasons -- and should help hedge the lack of chemistry. Eventually, however, the two will need to strike a cadence in endof-game situations. BASKETBALL IQ AND FEEL
ARE STILL PRIORITIES >> During the early parts of training camp, Kerr touted a simplified, more structured offense. While that’s still true (especially compared to the last three seasons), the Warriors’ ethos of improvisation are still part of the team’s DNA.
It isn’t a coincidence, then, that the players who have earned the most responsibility in the first two preseason games have also been the ones most comfortable reading, playmaking and reacting on the fly.
Glenn Robinson III, who got the start vs Minnesota, is a prime example. Robinson had a strong week of practice and, on Thursday, validated Kerr’s decision to start him as he thrived in transition and found trailing teammates for open 3s.
“That recognition is really important on our team,” Kerr said. “For some guys it takes a little longer to figure out.”
Of the two centers, Chriss has been superior at screening and passing, and making himself available within the offense. Poole has shown a natural feel for creating shots, and so has second-year guard Jacob Evans. As Kerr sorts through his lineup options, these are the players who will get the benefit of the doubt.
For example, earlier in the week, Kerr said he’d shy away from a three-guard lineup involving Curry, Russell and Poole because it would leave them undersized defensively. However, in key minutes against the Timberwolves, those three shared the court. When Kerr looks down his bench in crunch time, it has been these sort of high-IQ players he has historically called on.
• Curry’s performance Thursday night was the first 40-point game by an NBA player in the preseason since he scored 40 points on Oct. 8, 2017 at Minnesota.