Jordan Poole’s NBA Finals debut didn’t go the way he wanted it to be, as he seemingly melted under the bright lights in Game 1 of the championship series between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. The good thing for Poole is that he’s got a shot at atoning for his forgettable performance in the series opener, not to mention that he’s getting sound advice from the Splash Brothers duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Having someone like Curry and Thompson as teammates is a luxury for someone like Poole, who’s seen as among the future cornerstones of the Warriors. Here’s Curry offering his take on what Poole needs to do to recover right away.
Via Alex Espinoza of 95.7 The Game:
“Maybe slow down just a little bit to see the pictures a little bit better,” Curry said. “But he doesn’t have to change anything about the way he plays or the way he attacks or where he feels the most confident in terms of making an impact on the game. You just have to be able to bottle up those emotions and the adrenaline because it is different. It’s a different experience, knowing it’s the Finals, and you go through that in your first experience. It’s a little different.”
It’s pretty much the same tone as Thompson’s own advice to Poole, who scored just nine points on a salty 2/7 shooting from the field and also turned the ball over four times.
“I just tell Jordan to relax and not be too hard on yourself,” Thompson said. “He reminds me of my younger self. You want to be great every night, but the nature of the beast, it’s not like that unfortunately. There’s going to be lulls and there’s going to be highs, and just stay even-keeled and realize it’s the war of attrition at this point in the year.
“I just tell Jordan to relax and don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Klay Thompson on advice he gives Jordan Poole. pic.twitter.com/EqQm4zze51
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 4, 2022
Poole is third among all Warriors in the playoffs in scoring average with 17.8 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting from the field. He should be fine.
