The Highs and Lows of Jordan Poole's Preseason
- Lachlan Sherriff
- Oct 24, 2023
- 4 min read
Written by Lachlan Sherriff
Let's face it. There's not many reasons to watch the Wizards this year. After trading away Bradley Beal, they're now one of, if not the worst team in the NBA. However, there is one interesting story coming out of DC, and that's the development of Jordan Poole.
Poole, entering his fifth season in the NBA, was traded to Washington after four seasons playing with the Golden State Warriors, in which he won the 2022 NBA championship.
It seems like a very weird trade on paper for Golden State, especially as all they received was a 38 year old Chris Paul. But with the off the court issues between Poole and Warriors veteran Draymond Green, in which saw Poole getting knocked out by Green in practice, it was clear something had to change.
So Poole got moved to the Wizards, and it seemed like an ideal place for him to play. Aside from Kyle Kuzma, the Wizards don't have any offensive talent even close to Poole, and it gave the former Warrior a chance to finally lead a team himself. If he could put up twenty points a game off the bench in Golden State, what would he be like as a first option? Could he truly mold himself into a superstar?
The Wizards pre-season has now concluded, with four games, three against NBA teams. And Poole was... interesting, to say the least. So let's review his first four games in a Wizards uniform.
Wizards 145-82 Taipans
Poole: 20 minutes, 18 points, 46.5 FG%
Jordan Poole's debut for Washington went as well as you'd expect. The Wizards played the Cairns Taipans from the NBL, and weren't even tested, winning 145-82. Poole only played twenty minutes, but looked good. Poole was playing as a shooting guard, while Tyus Jones ran the point, but Poole still managed to create a lot of opportunities for himself. Whether it was from hitting his open threes, or finishing well around the rim, Poole impressed in his debut as a Wizard, and he even finished it off with a pretty special step back three.
Wizards 98-92 Hornets
Poole: 22 minutes, 11 points, 15.4 FG%
This game wasn't great. The Wizards may have won, but Poole's performance, especially his shooting, was less then subpar. Of course, there were bright spots. Poole may have gone 2-8 from behind the three point line, but the two he converted were pretty good. But the Wizards were introduced to a problem that is clearly gonna be an issue over the season to Poole - shot selection. Poole struggled to convert on finishing inside and around the paint, and probably could have kicked a few of his misses out to his teammates.
Wizards 131-106 Knicks
Poole: 27 minutes, 41 points, 52.6 FG%
Then again, why is shot selection a concern if you're gonna hit everything? Poole went off at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, with 41 points along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He got his first basket ninety seconds in with a pull up three over Jalen Brunson and never looked back. As expected, Poole found most of his success behind the arc, going 6-12 from three. He was also near perfect at the line, going 15-16. It was clearly one of those nights that all great players have, when they're feeling themselves and just can't miss. Poole's 41 points became a tied record for most points from a Wizard in a preseason game. The guy he shares the record with? Just some dude named Michael Jordan. Pretty good company, you'd have to say.
Wizards 98-134 Raptors
Poole: 20 minutes, 7 points, 6.7 FG%
You ever seen an NBA player play so bad it hurts to watch? This was Jordan Poole against the Raptors. Once again, Poole showed why his shot selection was a weakness, and it seemed even worse in this game. Despite failing to convert his layups against the Raptors taller defenders, Poole kept driving in the paint, hoping one of his layups would eventually fall. And some of the threes he took were so ridiculous you'd think he was shooting them on the buzzer. Poole ended this game going 0-6 from three and 1-15 from the field, leaving him with a bewildering percentage of 6.7 percent from the field. The bright spots, if you could call it that, was that Poole went 5-5 from the charity stripe and had four assists, a current high for him in a Wizards uniform. But Poole's excessive shooting hurt the team, as the Wizards got blown out by Toronto 134-98 for their first and only loss of the preseason.
So, should Poole's inconsistent preseason worry Wizards fans or not? He's clearly shown he has talent, but his shot selection and shooting percentage hasn't just been poor at times, it's been abysmal.
But Poole is taking a massive learning step this season. He's gone from being a bench option in Golden State to the first option in D.C. No matter how well Poole was playing in the Bay, he was never gonna be the first option over Stephen Curry. It just wasn't gonna happen. Without Curry, Poole can now learn how to be a first option, and what better place to do that then in Washington playing for a team with no expectations?
Poole's got a lot to learn in D.C. But Wizards fans shouldn't panic just yet.
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