Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had to go over a game he’d presumably just as soon forget after the Warriors got trounced for the second time in as many nights, this time by the blistering Brooklyn Nets.
But Kerr sat for the postgame media session calmly as he does, without verbal histrionics and always taking the questions seriously — even if his Warriors didn’t rise to the level where they’d have to be taken seriously by Kevin Durant and company.
Two prominent questions, frequently asked of Kerr, are these: What’s happened to the Warriors, and why isn’t Jordan Poole the player he’s supposed to be?
Poole, fans remember, is the player who gave the NBA palpitations last season as he looked like he could be the next Steph Curry after spending a little more time as Curry’s understudy. Poole was so good the Warriors locked him up for four more years with a handsome $140M extension.
Last night, with Curry out, Poole went 4-17 from the field, including 1-11 from three. Kerr agreed that the young player “forced it tonight, he got in a rush” — that Poole didn’t get his shots in rhythm. But why hasn’t Poole performed the way Dubs fans hoped and expected? Kerr explains:
“We’re gonna live with Jordan’s mistakes, you know he’s a young player, he’s still learning a ton,” Kerr said. “[Poole]’s a great talent and a great kid but the development continues. And part of that development is having the best guy on him.”
Kerr continued, saying Poole needed to continue to rise to excel at a different level of play: “You know when Steph is out, Ben Simmons will be guarding Jordan and the defensive game play will be based on guarding Jordan and that’s a different level of play that you have to reach. He’ll learn from it, it’s a great experience for him.”
Kerr is confident Poole will rise to that new level of play — it’s a learning process and, as Kerr says, Poole is “learning a ton.”
