With a career-best night, Poole may have earned spot in rotation
Jordan Poole may have earned more playing time and could be the offensive spark the team is seeking in the second half.
Coach Steve Kerr was impressed with Poole, not only from Thursday’s start, but also with how he has performed in the G League.
Poole, called up from the G League this week, made the most of his opportunity in Thursday’s loss to the Suns as the Warriors rested veterans Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Poole scored a career-high 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting (5 for 10 from 3-point range) in 26 minutes.
Poole, the third-leading scorer in G League bubble, has worked on shooting off the catch, coming off screens and improving his physicality. Playing with the Warriors’ G League Santa Cruz affiliate near Orlando gave him an opportunity to establish a rhythm. All in all, Kerr is ready to give Poole more minutes in the second half of the season.
“The way he played tonight, he definitely earned more minutes,” Kerr said.
He didn’t go as far as to say Poole will be a core part of the rotation, but it’s apparent that Brad Wanamaker’s position on the second unit is in jeopardy and Poole may have done enough to earn those minutes.
In 36 games as backup point guard this season, Wanamaker is averaging 4.8 points on 35.5% shooting and has made just 12 3-pointers all season. In his first game back since being called up from the bubble, Poole scored more points than Wanamaker has in his past five games combined and made as many 3-pointers as Wanamaker has made since Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, the Suns, winners of 15 of their last 18 and owners of the secondbest record in the Western Conference, shot 51% overall, 40% from 3-point range and outrebounded Golden State by 12 as they glided to a victory. Here are three takeaways from the game.
With the Warriors seeking ways to juice the of- fense, Poole’s scoring could be the boost they need. Over the break, the Warriors will look at replacing Wanamaker with Poole in the second unit. It may come at a cost on defense, but could be worth the trade-off if Poole can blossom into a productive bench scorer.
“In the first half of the season, we found combinations that made us really good defensively, but we were a little bit of a one-way team, we couldn’t find that rhythm offensively,” Kerr said. “So we’re going to give Jordan a chance to shine and give James (Wiseman) more minutes, and I think that’ll give us a chance to be better offensively. But what does it do to our defense? That’s why, ultimately, you have to find two-way players.”
• Among the players most in need of the All-Star break is Wiseman. The 19-year-old has had a wobbly first half as he’s dealt with injuries, inconsistent minutes and a steep learning curve.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard,” Wiseman said of his rookie season so far. “But I’ve stayed mentally strong. I had a lot of ups and downs in my first half of my rookie year, but I’ve learned a lot as well.”
There’s one thing Wiseman, the 7-footer, should be able to shore up in the second half. “Rebounding,” Kerr said. The Warriors were outrebounded 52-40 Thursday, and though Wiseman finished with 11 boards, most of them came in garbage time. By halftime, he had only three while his matchup, Deandre Ayton, had seven. On the season, Golden State ranks thirdto-last in rebounding rate. Wiseman’s 5.9 rebounds per game is underwhelming for someone who can be elite on the glass.
“Rebounding is about positioning, it’s about anticipating and he should be getting better as he goes,” Kerr said of Wiseman. “The second half of the season will be really big for James and for us. For us to win, to be competitive, he has to be a force in the paint on the glass.”
• With this loss, the Warriors finished the first half of the schedule with a 1918 record, ninth place in the West, a half-game behind the Mavericks and 2 ½ games behind the Nuggets for the No. 6 seed and the right to avoid the playin tournament.
That jibes with their 13thranked net rating. At the break, the Warriors are 22nd in offensive rating (109.2 points scored per 100 possessions), sixth in defensive rating (108.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) and second in pace