To say Jordan Poole's start to the 2021-22 Warriors season has been up-and-down would be an understatement. Two games after coach Steve Kerr said Poole had one of the best games of his young career, the 22-year-old committed six turnovers and scored just nine points in the team's first loss of the season to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kerr joined KNBR on Friday, and despite the inconsistency, explained why he has been thrilled with Poole through the first few weeks of the Warriors' season.
"It takes a long time and it takes a lot of bumps and bruises along the way," Kerr said on "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks." "So I couldn't be happier with Jordan, just how coachable he is, how mature he's been, as I said, the trend has been going in the right direction, that doesn't mean it's going to be seamless by any means, but he'll find his confidence."
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Poole has started all five of the Warriors' games so far this season, averaging 14 points but shooting just 40.8 percent from the field and 22.6 percent from 3-point range.
A recurring issue for the Warriors has been turnovers, and Poole's 18 compared to just 20 assists have hampered his ability to produce on the offensive end. As the starting shooting guard, Poole is drawing much more defensive attention and is being schemed against by opposing scouting reports.
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Steph Curry offered his young teammate advice about working through the struggles.
Golden State Warriors
"Always having a lot of conversations, a lot of feedback back and forth on what it means to be consistent every night," Curry said after the game. "For him, he wants it really bad. He wants to be great in this league. You can see it. But it takes time, and for him, it's understanding that you don't have to press every night, especially when you're on other teams' scouting reports and they are going to try to take you away from your patterns and sweet spots.
"And especially when he's out there with the second unit. He's the featured guy so he's going to see a lot more attention. It's just about not forcing anything and understanding that the game is going to come because he is super talented and has all the skill set in the world to put the ball in the basket, play make. He sees the court really well. You just can't press."
The Warriors still are 4-1 despite the erratic play from Poole, and he will get ample opportunities to hit his stride as the team embarks on an extended homestand featuring a number of very winnable matchups.
Poole has the right attitude, and it only is a matter of time before he finds the form he showed last season after returning from the G League.