Preview: Jordan Poole is back in the Bay vs Warriors

This is a must win game for the struggling Dubs against a Wizards team that has played absolutely awful.

The Golden State Warriors are back in action tonight against the Washington Wizards in a battle between a frustratingly mediocre Western Conference team and a completely terrible Eastern Conference bottom feeder.

If there was ever an opportunity for the Dubs to get their season on the right path again, they have to beat up on teams like the moribund Wiz. There’s just no way around it. And oh hey, we get a visit from the former golden child, Jordan Poole!

Golden State Warriors vs Washington Wizards

When: January 18th, 2024 | 5:30 PM PT

TV: NBC Sports Bay Area

Radio: 95.7 The Game

Right now Poole is averaging 21.4 PPG and shooting 40% from beyond the arc, both career highs. He’s also stuck leading a team that has a record of 6-33 on the season with a one-way ticket to irrelevancy. It’s hard for Dub Nation not to keep a watchful eye on Poole’s career even as his team spirals through the basement of the NBA.

Sigh. Poole’s journey from a raw, late-first-round pick to the Warriors’ sparkling new hope—and then his unceremonious exit—has the makings of a saga Golden State fans will never stop obsessing over.

It’s like a show you can’t quit, even when it veers into chaos, because every twist feels deeply personal. Poole wasn’t just a player; he was an avatar of the Warriors’ ability to polish diamonds out of late-draft rubble. After Kevin Durant left, Poole was the first pick the Warriors had to show that they still had the internal development that fostered the rise of the Splash Bros and Draymond Green.

For years we cheered his “Poole Party” moments and marveled at his audacious shot-making. We also endured his wild heat-checks because we believed we were watching the next disciple in Steph Curry’s basketball church.

And now? Now he’s a Wizard. A Washington Wizard. Which is a little like going from being a student at Harvard to teaching classes at, let’s say, a mid-tier online college. No disrespect to D.C. (okay, a little), but for Golden State fans, Poole’s new situation feels like peering into an alternate timeline where the Warriors never figured out how to pair joy with chaos.

The Wizards aren’t exactly synonymous with structure or a winning culture, and that’s where the intrigue lies: What happens to Jordan Poole without the cocoon of the Warriors’ dynasty? Without Steph whispering wisdom into his ear? Without Draymond yelling at him—or, you know, punching him (motivationally)?

For fans who were emotionally invested in his rise, there’s something fascinating about watching Poole try to put it all together in the wilderness. Will the same erratic decision-making that frustrated us in the Bay thrive in a system where no one really cares how many shots you chuck? Can he be The Guy on a team with zero expectations, or does the lack of guardrails reveal the limits of his game? These are questions Warriors fans need answers to, not because we’re rooting for him to fail, but because we can’t look away from the narrative Golden State helped write.

Every big box score, every viral moment—good or bad—is going to hit the timeline, and you can bet Dub Nation will have takes. “See, I told you he’d be unstoppable with more freedom!” or “Man, imagine if he just played within himself when he was with us!”.

The emotional investment doesn’t disappear just because Poole’s wearing a different jersey. His success and struggles will always feel like a reflection of what the Warriors built and what they let go.

And maybe that’s why Poole’s post-Warriors journey will remain must-see drama for us, even in the dark recesses of the League Pass schedule. We’ll always wonder: Did we let him go too soon? Or did we dodge a bullet? One thing’s for sure: No matter how chaotic things get in Washington, the Poole Party is still on Golden State’s RSVP list, if only to see what happens when you take the floaties off.