Jordan Poole Receives Praise for "Simplifying" His Game
Jordan Poole looks like he’s going to be the Warriors point guard of the future. He’s gotten a lot of credit for the improvements he’s made, and they’re generally well-deserved: He works hard at his game, with stories of him being the first and last out of the gym over the summer being well-documented in addition to how he’s learned the game from the vets.
In particular, Andre Iguodala thinks that Poole has made strides in a lot of productive ways. While he’s still not the perfect player Dubs fans hope he’ll turn into, his ability to play the game at a different pace than he’s used to - and to varying levels of complexity - has impressed.
Strangely enough, Poole’s continued simplification of the game is reminiscent of a few other Warriors guards who have had some degrees of success. Iguodala’s insight is very valuable, and is consistent with Poole fixing a lot of the flaws that came with his pre-draft report: Sometimes he overcomplicates his dribbles, sometimes he picks up the ball too much, and sometimes he takes more difficult shots than he needs to.
Jordan Poole is a good difficult shot-maker, which is a sign of potential, but he should really only be using those skills when he has to. The kid, as Iguodala says, often beats his many so many times he’s just back to square one by the end of the sequence. He’ll dribble into shots that are tough when he could give up the ball, move around, and get it back open.
With simplification comes more consistency, and right now, that’s the name of the game for growing his repertoire. The more consistent he becomes, the easier it is for him to play at a high level, and the more the game slows down for him. Poole already plays with excellent pace sometimes, but figuring out when to properly do what is just as important as being able to do it in the first place.
Luckily for Poole, he’s got Steph Curry, an all-time scoring talent who’s notorious for simplification. Curry’s best shot-making generally comes on less dribbles, and although he’s a highly-efficient self-creator, a lot of those looks are as simple as a pump-fake into a one-dribble pull-up. Those are the kinds of skills that will develop the Splash Nephew the best because they suit his game well still. He’s crafty, and he can get by defenders with a quick first step and counter-moves when he just makes things easier for himself.
If Iguodala’s insight is anything to go by - which it should be, for a player of his experience and caliber - then Poole has a long career ahead of him as an NBA-level combo guard. It will just take a work ethic, which he has, and great mentoring, which he also has. Hopefully, he’ll have that career in Golden State.
(Photo credit: Will Newton / Getty Images)