Draymond Green went to bat for Jordan Poole, offering non-podium time to reporters in the Golden State Warriors’ locker room after the thrilling double-overtime home victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Here’s the full quote (my transcription):
When you have Steph out, when you have Wiggins out, the defense is more locked in on you and they’re doing whatever they can to create that pressure. In saying that, I don’t think his turnovers have been problematic at all. They’re in the flow of the game. They aren’t really leading to transition opportunities for the other team. So there’s different types of turnovers. There’s really bad turnovers. I don’t think he’s having bad turnovers. Sometimes he’s getting caught in a crowd but, again, you have Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins out, so there’s gonna be more of a crowd. He can do a better job of identifying a crowd, but at the same time, we need him to play the way he’s playing. So yes, he’s turning the ball over more but I don’t think they’re deadly turnovers. They’re not really causing us a bunch of trouble. And then, on the flip side, everyone else is doing a better job of taking care of the ball which allows you some room for error if Jordan has a few turnovers, because like I said, we have to have him playing with that aggression right now in order to give us a chance to win.
MY COMMENTARY ON POOLE
Social media will always be a place to look for the glass-half-empty perspective, so it comes as no surprise that with the entire team stepping up to steal a win from the Hawks, a faction of eager commenters went out of their way to complain about Poole. There was even a thread that began with praise for Kevon Looney and his double-offensive-rebound-putback buzzer-beater, but ended with a spate of grumblings about JP rather than the thread staying on-topic with Looney praise. I even saw people wanting Draymond to punch JP a second time, as if physical violence would result in fewer turnovers.
Of course, that’s the thing about social media commenting, isn’t it? Humans think 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. If you’re in an outraged state of mind, would a wacky — to put it nicely — image of Draymond punching JP again, resulting in Poole playing better the next game, jump through your brain? I accept that as one of the tens of thousands of thoughts that could occur to someone actively frustrated with JP’s performance, because when a person is going through the hormones of stress from other parts of their busy and hectic lives, they lean more on the negatives than the positives. They’re certainly not in a state of gratitude, which would’ve been evidenced by more happy comments about Looney. Note: the whole basis of the Let’s Go Warriors brand is to focus on gratitude.
But that’s also the problem with social media. Thoughts easily get transmitted into written thumb-typed text, which then become permanently — at least on Twitter, not on YouTube where the protections against haters are more prevalent — documented virtual daggers at their targets. We get to see and hear everyone’s thoughts, and most people don’t even realize that they don’t want that. Apps like Twitter and Reddit have morphed to become amplifiers of the brain’s sixty to seventy thousand thoughts per day.
Perhaps this is why NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke has decided to try taking a break from Twitter for the month of January:
My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me. https://t.co/wkYKww15kQ
Back to the topic of JP, I also tracked a list of lies being told about Jordan:
• “has not been clutch at all” (had several clutch Steph-like drives and finishes at the rim when Klay wasn’t busy collecting 54).
• “7 turnovers a game, nowhere near Steph” (Year 4 JP = 4 turnovers per game, Year 5 Wardell Stephen Curry = 4 turnovers per game).
• “He’s selfish” (checks JP assists per game, it’s 4.3 this year in just 19 starts — dishing out four assists a game is not the sign of a selfish player).
Here’s a fact: Poole is averaging 26.9 points per game in all the games he’s started this season. That would put him 13th in the NBA, just below Devin Booker (27.1) and above DeMar DeRozan (26.7), if the NBA only counted games started in its scoring leader category.
Another fact: The only player other than Poole in the Top Ten in the league in turnovers who has not been named an NBA All-Star is Kevin Porter, Jr. Not many people realize that if you’re turning the ball over in the NBA and you’re still playing a lot, you’re probably doing All-Star-ish things, as opposed to whatever casuals think they’re doing (stinking it up?).
The absolute worst argument I found by a complainer was a comparison of how much worse JP was playing to Ja Morant and Trae Young (side note: both of these players happen to be in that Top Ten in turnovers!). I had to remind this fellow that Morant was a No. 2 draft pick and Young a No. 6 pick, and that JP’s contract extension at $123 million (for a 28th pick) as compared to $193 million and $207 million, respectively, ought to be considered a bargain!
One of Curry’s favorite quips is to “turn it on its head”. I submit that we ought to turn the Jordan Poole talk on its head. Monty Williams even said in the pregame in Phoenix that JP is on their scouting report because “he has All-Star-level talent”:
Why not look at the glass half-full? Once Jordan solves the turnover issue, which Steph also once did by his Year 6 or so, like KPJ, we will have a player knocking on the door of an All-Star nod, which is pretty good for a 28th pick extended at just $28 to $35 million per year, locked in for the five years starting in 2023-24.
But I’m also happy to report that an overwhelming number of comments on our YouTube channel did praise Poole’s effort, his development and, most importantly, confidence in his growth. It can’t be overstated that Steph averaged 3.8 turnovers in his fifth year (2014) to Jordan’s 3.6 in now his fourth year.
While looking up that stat, I noticed that Curry also averaged 8.5 assists to go along with 24.0 points per game. Steph has gradually descended a bit to 6.8 assists per game this season, but 8.5 assists is absolutely insane and shows the greatness of our GOAT.
Steve Kerr — who deserves credit for unlocking Steph for his subsequent historic MVP years in 2015 and 2016, as you’ll see below — keeps saying Poole has another level to get to. I’m not sure if JP can reach the level that Curry got to, but merely reducing the turnovers from 3.8 per game (4.2 per game started) would be good enough for me. Imagine Poole crossing the 5.0-assist barrier, too.
I’m gonna try to do more commentary like this going forward, to make these posts a little more interesting for me (and hopefully you) than just a copy-and-paste of my transcriptions.
WARRIORS-HAWKS VISUAL RECAP
MORE TOPICS FROM WARRIORS-HAWKS
38:00 did Moody play too far off Trae? We analyze!
51:00 “PBJ needs more minutes” lol we *need* to stop with that, talk from a position of abundance. He has the opportunity now, and he’s getting, and we’re loving it. When Wiggins and Kuminga return (and maybe Wiseman indirectly), do NOT expect “more PBJ minutes”.
1:01:00 we are up by 20+. Glad I didn’t make any predictions based on the injury report! Another reason to avoid predictions.
1:07:00 Atlanta might be stuck as one of those Eastern Conference teams who haven’t faced a team like us (all season, actually, except for Utah on November 9)
1:11:30 JORDAN POOLE GRAVITY: Trae and John Collins bite on JP from Draymond in the post and Lamb has an easy cut (got fouled). THIS IS A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE OF THE FRANCHISE
1:18:00 HOT GAMBLING TAKE: Hawks upset Kings on 1/4/2023 because they got used to playing GSW and preparing for SAC using this game film tonight
1:26:00 ATL 6-0 run to start Q3, Kerr yells at Kenny, good to have someone to yell at other than your own players
1:28:00 I’ll bet we’re -6 x 20 home games = -120 in the first two minutes of every Q3
1:32:45 8min00 Q3 Steph Curry is probably a notch better than JP in the corner vs a big iso
1:37:00 maybe playing zone (DeJounte and Bogdan hit threes) is a way for Draymond to rest?
1:38:30 Klay wearing the Koi colorway of ANTA KT8, I have not yet been told by my ANTA source as to why they always have the Japanese fish Koi as a colorway
1:41:00 why Patrick Baldwin Jr isn’t playing right now: His rotation was the start of Q2, so it’s likely his rotation in the 2nd half will be start of Q4
1:49:00 0min36.0 Q3 Moody has to un-learn the crafty veteran intentional foul
1:51:30 showing the clip of Donte DiVincenzo explaining to Ty Jerome and Lamb the need to keep moving
1:55:30 tonight feels like Lamb is a vet whereas PBJ is the rookie and Kerr will trust the vet (probably, we’ll see)
6min40 Klay fakes 6min22 JP gets past first line of defense
2:23:15 if JP were to be this way in his player development where he wins 2 of 3 games, are we okay with that?
2:36:15 Brandon Bowling: “GOD I LOVE THIS TEAM!” (w/o Steph and Wiggins)
2:55:30 Lamb plays are like we envision them in the playoffs! 1min00 two sequences
3:35:00 fans gotta trust the team already knows Poole is on an improvement graph, and he knows that too. Let’s celebrate the win tonight instead.
4:24:00 all we need from Iguodala is that he’s 100% by the time the playoffs start, that’s all that matters. So if he comes back before or after ASW, it doesn’t really matter. Although he did scrimmage against the G League team this morning.
4:36:30 when is Wiseman coming back? Idk, but in the Blazers BTS video on the channel
…he enters the arena without that much of a limp (?)
4:48:00 Klaystxtion: “Idk if two-way guys have ever had this much impact in the NBA regular season for any team…doing it for the defending champs! Unreal!”
4:51:30 will Klay get voted in as an All-Star?
6:34:00 wow, what Kerr just said about Jordan Poole’s development is what all the naysayers need to hear
6:54:45 last question to Kerr was about why the analytical disparities between home and away were so great, and Steve didn’t really have an answer. I think it’s mainly the quirk of the schedule mixed in with the championship AND ring ceremony AND extension hangovers. In other words, intangible stuff, and unexplainable.
6:58:00 on JaMychal Green, the one time I had a leg infection, I had to abort my road trip to New York, leg was swollen and I was out for about two weeks
WARRIORS-HAWKS POSTGAME
DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, tweeted by beatwriters, as listed, or transcribed by me. I used to transcribe every interview but it became too tedious and not worth the investment for the small amount of views we got on the soundbites on YouTube. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) to the brains of DubNation asap.
• Draymond Green postgame locker room on any over-burdens from the overtime: “I’m paid to play basketball, brother…Regardless of how I feel, it don’t matter. I gotta play and we gotta win…I work all summer to put my body in position.” (Anthony Slater)
• On how important it is for Klay to play relaxed: “you don’t have to be the same Klay as you once were before…and then you become the Klay you were before…let the game come to you…two years, everybody doubting you…what made you Klay Thompson…that’s embedded in you…he’s not chasing it anymore and it’s falling right into his lap.” (me, NBCSBA)
• On the previously fragile state: “we’re stating to build an MO…gritty…it’s coming at a great time with all the guys that we have out…everyone is buying into that grit…if those (tough moments in these wins) happened in Game 10 everybody would be sulking…nobody’s panicking, nobody’s pointing fingers…if we get stops we can score on anybody.” (me, NBCSBA)
• On Steph’s importance even while injured: “always great to have his presence around…contribute to the team in any way that you can…mentorship…he sees the game differently than anybody…especially with Jordan, Klay.”
• On staying even-keeled looking at the standings: “I’m a basketball fan, so I look at it, of course, but I don’t look at it from a perspective of, ‘Aw, man, we need to do this to get —.’ That said, we get into the playoffs, I told you all this before, I don’t care who we play or what city we are (in), don’t nobody wanna play against us in the playoffs. So we just gotta continue to get better, embrace the process of improving each and every day. And understand that a championship is not won in December. It’s not won in January…We are always gonna keep one eye open on it, just as competitors.”
• On Jordan Poole’s turnovers: [read above]
• Klay Thompson postgame sends condolences to Damar Hamlin, teammates and the city of Buffalo, then gives recap: “Sometimes the game can overshadow us…wish him the best, keeping him in our prayers and hoping for the best possible outcome…bigger than sports…gritty win again…got a little stagnant…gritty play after gritty play…DiVincenzo…Draymond quarterbacking everything.”
• On if he knew he’d get fifty: “I don’t go into halftime thinking I’ll get fifty.”
• On how big it was: “Seeing Dominique Wilkins before the game…coming back from the Achilles and averaging high-20s…I’m just gonna embrace the heck out of it.”
• On playing 46 minutes: “I feel great and I would not have been able to do this a few months ago…energy on both sides of the ball…confidence-booster…getting better with every game. I’ll be more consistent as the season goes on, not having the reps (at the beginning of the season).”
• On Looney: “Indispensable for us…ability to be out there every night…read the offense…21 rebounds…like scoring 40 in an NBA game…had injuries that had him feeling like a shell of himself.”
• On being more relaxed: “In beginning I was just so eager to get back…like tonight and proving to whomever that I’m still great…after this year there’s only one year left on my deal…told myself I just gotta enjoy every day…the brand that’s been built here…what matters most is having fun and playing hard…had it a couple days ago, I’ve had it month ago, I’ve had a lot of self-talks.”
• On his shot be tightened up: “being in much better shape…I’m not in peak…I can drift…Ron Adams and I had a great conversation just going straight up and down.”
• On the iso three and dribbling into the shot: “Good seeing Justin (Holiday)…playing against each other since high school. Just gave me a little space…try and get a rhythm dribble.”
• On having better elevation on his shot: “game reps…was a little scared (playing pickup during the summer).”
• On how the team is winning without Curry and Wiggins: “I shot enough for the three of us…Strength in Numbers, baby…Anthony Lamb, 17 & 7 off the bench tonight…we’re all just growing together…when we get to full strength, it’s gonna be scary.”
• On Donte: “He’s a Villanova guy…Jay Wright…preaching hard-nosed basketball ever since Kyle Lowry.”
• On not being in peak form, 46 mins, and going into Pistons: “We owe Detroit one…my approach is to do the same thing as tonight…be a leader…joy to be here, be a Warrior.”
• On the reference to the contract: “I don’t really think too much beyond that…blessing to earn 3 contracts for the same franchise…I’m much more appreciative than I was, say, in 2019.”
• On the emphatic fist pump: “Amazing. Those moments where you have the ball with the game on the line and teammates trust you, those are what you live for…hard to see those times during the rehab process.”
• On the congested standings, having the same record as the Suns: “only four, five, maybe six games back from first place…catching that fire at the right time…I don’t know how players did it pre-Internet days. I really don’t know how they did it. Newspaper?…That’s it? Heck yeah. And a good airplane.”
• Trae Young postgame recap: “Klay did what he’s done his whole career…(not a big enough lead to) beat this type of team at home…that first half really hurt us.”
• On what went wrong in the first half: “Too much in the half court (in the first half).”
• On what’s said in the locker room due to two heart-breakers: “It’s hard to lose any game…we’ve been on the other side too. Whether by 1 or 50 it’s still a loss.”
• Anthony Lamb postgame in-studio on the conversation in the huddle: “For us we know we have the notch but we’re finding how to get to it…we’re starting to make the turn…rotations.”
• On winning the game with rebounding: “That’s a big focus. We know we’re an under-sized team…having Draymond down there helps…scrapping…progress.”
• On the chemistry: “We have a difficult system…it was hard…summer rotations…it’s becoming easier…we know what the next pass is gonna look like.”
• On Klay: “as soon as he gets hot, I run back.”
• On Klay’s 21 three attempts: “It’s Klay.”
• On the overtime game: “I was just elated that Loon made that layup…feels so much better…with a win.”
• On gaining team chemistry for the bench for when Curry and Wiggins come back: “Maybe God had a plan for us…Patrick (Baldwin)…opportunity that we’ve been blessed with and how we’re performing.”
• On Donte: “The way he pressures the ball…him and JK…Trae Young…getting a lot more comfortable with it…dividends.”
• On guarding a bigger Hawks player: “I know Draymond has my back…I’ll be able to get a stop…I trust him.”
• On what he knew about Warriors fans before: “I knew if you went like this (they would cheer, which they did).”
• Kevon Looney postgame on if he’s ever had a game-winner: “Not a walk-off. But no, I guess no.”
• On the game-winning bucket:
“Trae Young had a tough floater…I didn’t know who was gonna shoot it…I rushed the first one…took my time on the second one.”
• On knowing if he had enough time: “just a feeling…realized not everybody was celebrating so I knew I had more time.”
• On Klay hitting 54: “When he gets hot there’s nothing too many players that can score like him…scored all type of ways.”
• On what teammates told him: “They know how hard I work. Everyone dreams about a game-winner…everybody was exhausted…giving me props.”
• On Draymond shooting threes: “picks his spots. People don’t think he’s a great shooter but…I think it’s going in (in crunch time)…when the game is on the line and it’s winning time I expect him to shoot those and make those.”
• On winning these games: “grind-out games…showing our toughness…earlier…free-flowing and high-scoring…starting to find our identity…lean on our defense.”
• On the most points from Klay since 2018, if he’s getting back to vintage Klay: “We ask him to do different things…his role is different night to night…with guys missing…showing why he’s a Hall-of-Fame player…I feel like he had 40 (last year)…fifty is hard to get.”
• On Donte: “adds a level of toughness…taking on the best player since Wiggs went out…leadership and a veteran voice.”
• On being pulled out late vs trusting Steve: “You always wanna stay in but since I’ve been here he’s always been doing that…stay ready…doesn’t really bother me.”
• On being 5-0 lately: “after a bad road trip and you lose guys, things could’ve gone a different way but we put our heads down…every win is gonna matter for us…build good habits…to good habits.”
• Steve Kerr postgame on Looney: “Loon was fantastic…they kinda took over that fourth quarter…Loon and Anthony Lamb…fun to watch them both perform at that level…to see Loon get rewarded.”
• On Klay: “We had four guys play 44 minutes or more…fatigue was a factor and we weren’t generating many easy shot and Klay just took over…letting him go high screen…some pins…he just made shot after shot…incredible.”
• On winning close games: “We’re gonna get some games back. Mike Dunleavy turned to me and said that’s payback for the game in Utah…we’re playing tougher…not fouling…two reaches on Trae Young down the stretch…allowed the game to keep going…we probably wrap up the game or make him make a tough shot…we’re playing smarter, we’re playing tougher, we’re sticking together.”
• On Donte DiVincenzo on the boards: “Donte has really shined during this stretch…why he’s a winning player…that guy won two NCAA championships, an NBA title…the three that he made to tie it, that was just Donte doing what he does.”
• On the Klay stepback being an iso or not: “We were gonna get Klay in a pick and roll…everybody was pretty tired…flattened out…decent look…when guys are just exhausted you’re just trying to outlast your opponent.”
• On Klay’s shot going in lately: “More his emotion is under control. When he was struggling earlier in the season he was placing too much importance on his shot…searching…when he’s patient you’ll know because he’s hitting the roll man…ball comes back to him.”
• On if there’s a physical component for Klay: “He’s done so much in his career…you don’t go away from him…everybody has a bad stretch…he’s stayed much more calm and patient.”
• On losing the 17-point lead: “I didn’t like the way we closed the second quarter…third quarter, first possession was a turnover…lob dunks…this was their first game of the trip…found it…explosive team…we fell into a little bit of a rut…evenly matched…we’re missing some guys…ups and downs…that’s what I’m most proud of.”
• On any concerns over the load from this double-OT game: “There’s a reason I gave the guys the days off…the performance staff will let me know if they have concerns about anybody.”
• On Poole’s 31 shots: “What I love about Jordan is that he’s got another level to reach. These games are so great for him to feel what it’s like to be Steph…have the best defender on you, to have the pressure on you…function. Down the stretch…gonna be more physical…we don’t win any of these five games without Jordan…he needs this experience to go through so he can feel what it’s like to be the main guy…from an improvement standpoint…awareness of what needs to happen, playing through stuff…that’s exciting to me because he’s already a helluva player.”
• On the timeout and what he talked about: “We took Jordan out. We had the two-point lead…defensive lineup…foul to use…no threes and no fouls on the shot…are we gonna switch…we have no timeouts left. If they score we gotta push it…Loon and Lamb were down there fight…wild sequence but the guys did a great job of executing.”
• Klay Thompson postgame on-court on if he has anything left after 54 points: “My tank is on E…Thank goodness for Kevon Looney. Thank goodness. Kevon-juwon strikes again!…It was your inspirational talk, Bob…like Bob Marley…you got some telepathic skills, buddy.”
• On the work to go 5-0 so far on the homestand: “Wooh, man, it’s been a gutsy effort…PBJ…eight great points. Finger roll, he really emphasized that jelly in his name.”
• On the 54 points: “Yes they can! More to come, Bob. I’m dead, y’all.”
👍👍💛💙