After an incredibly promising playoff performance last year on the road to a championship with the Warriors, Jordan Poole has completely fallen off the rails. With a plus/minus of -6 in ten minutes against the Lakers last night, Poole seems to be nearing unplayable territory as Golden State looks to dig themselves out of a 3-1 hole. If Zendaya and Kim K sitting courtside isn’t enough motivation for this young man to start contributing, I honestly have no idea how the Warriors could justify giving Poole any playing time. Before the game last night, this video of Jordan Poole scrolling on his phone went viral:
No one will ever know for sure what exactly made Poole that excited, but there are plenty of valid conspiracy theories that, if true, would make this whole situation that much funnier. After apparently spending $500K on a date with Ice Spice, maybe Poole received some “motivational” pictures before the game? Or maybe he just saw Kevin Gates’ Instagram story (if you know, you know). While amusing for most of the world, I somewhat feel sympathy for Warriors fans after an incredibly disappointing series against the Lakers so far. Following a complete waste of a Steph Curry master class last night, I’m not buying the “revenge 3-1 comeback” narrative that ESPN will be shoving down our throats until the Lakers close the series out. I think the Warriors will win game five back at home, but unless we see prime “Game 6 Klay”, the Warriors repeat hopes will end in Los Angeles.
Will LeBron get ring number five? Will Jimmy Butler and the Heat reach the finals in one of the most unlikely playoff runs in NBA history? Who knows. However, one thing I’m certain of is the end of the Poole era in Golden State. The Warriors would be dumb not to move off of his absurdly expensive contract, but would it be wise for any team to pick up that contract? Probably not, but that’s what teams like the Detroit Pistons are for.
