Jordan Poole has struggled in the 2023 NBA playoffs, averaging just 10.6 points and 3.5 assists through the Warriors' 12 games thus far. That's well under his regular-season pace of 20.4 points and 4.5 assists per contest.
However, teammate Draymond Green noted that busting out of a slump doesn’t happen overnight. As a result, he wants the 23-year-old to continue focusing on the details of his game.
“JP had a much better game [in Game 5 against the Lakers on Wednesday night], just more aggressive on both sides of the ball,” Green said Thursday on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show.” “His shot still didn’t fall at the rate we’re accustomed to it falling at or at the rate that he wants it at.
“But you don’t just come out of a slump guns blazing. You get it back step by step. And so seeing him as aggressive as he was taking good shots last night, now you start to build on that. You start to see more shots fall. And I think that’s huge. So, it’s great to see him looking more like himself.”
While the production isn’t as high -- he scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting in Game 5 -- and it'd be easy for Poole to be discouraged, he’s embracing the learning experience as he faces adversity.
“Stay down until you come up,” Poole told the San Francisco Chronicle’s C.J. Holmes on Monday night, after Game 4. “In life, there’s always going to be tough times. It’s never going to be sweet. Take it for what it is. Learn from it. But you always have to be yourself. You can only control what you can control. In the long run, no one is going to look back at 2023 in May, really. It’s a learning process, but you just take it for what it is.
Golden State Warriors
“You learn from every stage, every little challenge. And I have the Lord on my side more than anything, and everyone knows that. I got him on my back, and I’m going to get through anything. Shout-out to my parents. Just have to be mentally tough. Nothing’s going to be easy. Nothing’s going to be sweet.”
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Golden State knows that to push the Western Conference semifinals against LA to a Game 7 and contend for another NBA championship, it will need contributions from Poole.