Washington Wizards on a skid as Jordan Poole makes return to Golden State Warriors
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Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole drives to the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels defends in the second quarter at Capital One Arena.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SAN FRANCISCO – On a quest to make his first All-Star team, Jordan Poole prepares to face his former side when the Washington Wizards visit the Golden State Warriors on Jan 18 (Jan 19, Singapore time).
The club’s first-round pick in 2019, Poole played his first four National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons for Golden State, averaging a full-season career-best 20.4 points in his final year for the Warriors in 2022-23.
The guard also had a pair of 30-point games and 19 double-figure scoring efforts in their post-season run to the 2022 title.
But after a run-in with teammate Draymond Green during training camp the following October, Poole fell out of favour in San Francisco and was dealt to the Wizards in July 2023 as part of a package for Chris Paul.
He has faced the Warriors three times since then, once in San Francisco, where he had 25 points on seven-for-21 shooting in a 129-118 loss in December 2023.
This time around, Poole, who is averaging a career-high 21.4 points, and the Wizards, arrived in town in a bit of a slump.
Washington have lost eight in a row, the last three of which while Poole averaged just 17.0 points and shot only 17-for-47 overall (36.2 per cent) and seven-for-27 on three-pointers (25.9 per cent).
As they prepare to greet – not necessarily politely – Poole for the second time since his trade, Warriors fans will also get their first opportunity to see Wizards rookie Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The 19-year-old has scored in double figures in 16 of his last 17 games.
But he has been proudest of what he has done at the other end of the court, where he has had two blocks in each of Washington’s last three games despite opponents attempting to draw him out to the perimeter.
“I didn’t feel too out of my comfort zone,” the Frenchman said of his play away from the basket.
“It’s just being able to roam around, covering ground and helping anywhere on the court.”
The Warriors could try a similar tactic with Green, who has been attempting more than twice as many three-pointers this season (3.8 per game) as he was when Poole was his teammate two years ago (1.8 per game).
The mere mention of Poole, 25, brings back bad memories for Green.
“One of my biggest failures as a (veteran) was the incident with Jordan Poole,” the 34-year-old now admits.
“It took me to go through that failure with him, who was someone who came in and chose his locker to be next to me because he wanted to learn from me, and I (messed) it all up.
“I haven’t felt that miserably (about) most things in my life. It taught me a ton.”
Green sat out the last three games of a Warriors trip that ended with a win at Minnesota on Jan 15.
With two days off at home to recuperate, he is expected to return from an illness to face the Wizards, against whom he had one of his best games of the season in November, when he contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 125-112 win at Washington. REUTERS
