Warriors like Jordan Poole’s confidence despite missed shots

SACRAMENTO – As soon as he caught the ball, Jordan Poole let the ball out of his hands. And why wouldn’t he?

With the clock winding down, the Warriors needed a 3 to tie the game. The Warriors drafted Poole at No. 28 partly because of his shooting. So why not make a strong impression in his first game as a Warrior? That story did not play out as scripted, though, Poole’s shot nipped the rim. The Warriors later lost to the Kings, 81-77.

Unfair to read anything into Poole scoring six points while shooting only 3-of-12 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3 in his summer-league debut. Fair to read into Poole’s unwavering confidence through his shooting hiccups.

“I’m a shooter. I make shots,” Poole said. “It’s what I do. If I don’t make a couple of shots, I can’t just stop shooting. I’m being aggressive.”

Granted, Poole’s success in his rookie season will hinge on making shots. The burden cannot fall just to Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell. The Warriors will miss Klay Thompson through at least December, if not more, after having surgery on his torn ACL in his left knee on Tuesday. Kevin Durant already bolted to Brooklyn.

Curry and Thompson have rarely allowed shooting slumps to inhibit them from taking shots.

“Maybe one or two questionable ones. But for the most part, he’s shooting the right shots,” said Aaron Miles, the Warriors’ summer-league coach. “That’s the key for a player to be confident. If you miss it, at least you know you’re taking the right shot. The coach is going to say ‘It’s a good shot. You just missed it. Shoot the next one.’”

The Warriors enter Tuesday’s game against the Lakers with Poole intent on looking for his shot. The Warriors’ summer-league offense partly centers around Poole. Just as Warriors coach Steve Kerr often preaches, Miles has stressed ball movement. The Warriors ran plays that helped Poole receive open looks off of pindowns and curls after he moved off the ball.

“Obviously this year not having Klay is going to hurt. So that’s how we’re going to play,” Miles said. “So we have to find somebody that has that ability to be good.”

Poole seems like a prime candidate after averaging 13.9 points per game last season as a sophomore at the University of Michigan while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from deep. It does not sound like Poole sweats the percentages. Instead, he seems to understand the law of averages.

“I got a lot of early good looks and they didn’t fall for me,” Poole said. “But everything felt comfortable.”

Poole did not allow his shooting accuracy issues to define his game. He still hustled on defense. He operated a two-man game with Warriors rookie forward Eric Paschall, who already knows Poole through the AAU and college hoops circuits. He also became more comfortable with new teammates and a new playbook.

Amid the information overload and the repeated clanks, however, Poole shared a looseness that suggests he might be equipped to handle success and failure.

“Surprisingly, I didn’t have any nerves,” Poole said. Because of that, Poole expects those shots to fall in soon, possibly as early as his next game.

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