Jordan Poole followed up a strong finish to last season with a great preseason and 20-point performance in the Warriors' season-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers. That success did not carry over to Game 2, as Poole scored just nine points on 4-14 shooting in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Draymond Green and Steve Kerr both explained what their advice to Poole would be after a tough night at Chase Center.
"I just told him to slow down, I think everything was kind of sped up, he was in a rush, that team were very physical with him," Draymond said after the victory. "That's cool, he's going to see more of that. When you're starting and you're playing the way he's been playing through the preseason and that first game, that's what teams are going to do. You're on the scouting report now, they're going to press up into your chest and make you make plays through the physicality."
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Warriors coach Steve Kerr agreed with Green's assessment that Poole looked to be hurried by the Clippers' defense, and said he wants to see more resilience out of the guard.
"Poise, to start. He got a bit out of sorts, which forced us to put Steph back in earlier in the 2nd quarter," Kerr said. "I just thought he got into a rush, but it's all part of it."
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With Klay Thompson not expected to return for several months, Poole will be expected to put points on the board and be the second scoring option after Steph Curry on a regular basis.
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Still just 22 years old, Poole can't be expected to dominate night in and night out. Any young player in the NBA will struggle at times, and Poole is no exception.
Now that teams are game-planning against him, the defensive intensity will ratchet up on Poole. How the guard can adjust and thrive through that will determine how successful the former first-round pick can be in 2021-22.
He will get a chance to take on a trio of talented young guards Sunday when the Warriors travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings.