Curry and Poole Are Some of the League's Best Shot Creators

There’s no doubt Steph Curry has a claim to the title of “best shot creator in the NBA” right about now. The numbers back it up, whether its statistics about stepbacks, pull-ups, unassisted field goals, you get the idea.

Check the eye test as well, and it’s pretty easy to tell he’s at the top of the list. The way he gets separation is unlike anybody else in the league. People attribute the game-changing separation moves to guys like James Harden and Jayson Tatum, but Curry was doing both of their signature moves before they added them to the repertoire.

Enter Jordan Poole, the “Steph disciple”, who seems to be taking a lot of keys from the 13-season vet. Amongst the top 20 or so players who rank with the best self-created effective field goal percentage, Curry ranks #5 and Poole ranks #11, representing the Warriors as one of two squads with multiple names on that list (the Sixers are the other, with Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and Seth Curry).

Poole endured a bit of a rocky start to the season. Despite a jump in about 6 points per game, he was taking some pretty ill-advised shots: Of his 14 field goal attempts per game, 8 of them were from the three-point line, where he was only shooting 30% for a stretch there. He’s upped that to 33%, and while he doesn’t always take the best shot, his selection has drastically improved.

Poole has been getting some similar treatments to Curry lately because of games like his hyper-efficient 30 points against the Raptors, where he was the second player in NBA history to score that many points on 13 or less shots. The only other one? Former Warrior and all-world, all-time scorer, Kevin Durant.

Teams have a tendency to sell out hard to contest Poole, similar to how they do to Curry, which is something the Sixers showed a bit in their matchup Wednesday. There would be moments where Poole having the ball around the arc would have two defenders (one of them in help) standing and staring because whenever he gets downhill, Poole shoots 60% from the field.

They’re two different types of scoring threats (Poole with some crazy efficiency off the dribble and within the arc, while Curry stretches defenses out to half court) that require different defensive schemes to plan for. Tighter, paint-packing defenses are subjected to the Warriors bombarding them from three, and coverages that spread out to get a hand in the teams’ range leave the driving lanes wide open.

While they have similar arsenals, the way they get to their shots is distinct, and it gives Golden State a ton of options to have their two top scorers so far this season be so good at creating their own shots while also opening up the floor for the rest of the team to get looks.

(Photo credit: Noah Graham / Getty Images)