The Splash Bros era of Golden State Warriors’ basketball is defined by highly accurate shooting on ridiculously high volume and degree of difficulty. Well, that and championships.
Before Golden State’s big win last night over the Chicago Bulls in Chase Center, there had been three Dubs who made six or more three-pointers in a single game this season. Stephen Curry (eight times!), Klay Thompson (three times), and Andrew Wiggins (twice).
Jordan Poole joined the Six-Threes-Or-More party last night when he nailed seven triples on the Bulls, providing a tremendous scoring punch off the bench with 30 points.
Some in Dub Nation may feel this shooting detonation was long overdue considering he had nine such games last season, and is notorious for jacking deep shots without fear.
The statkeepers show us he’s shooting 32% from beyond the arc this season on a little over 7 attempts per game. As much as the growing pains of young players like James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody have been pointed to as reasons for the champs’ rocky start…Poole’s rough shooting hasn’t made things easier on the Dubs.
Thankfully he’s already a championship tested winner at the age of 23, with plenty of wise vets around him to help him as he gets his groove back. Check out his thoughtful response to questions about whether or not he’s a streaky shooter:
He also had -6 plus/minus, which means that all of his efforts are rendered null and void apparently from how some folks are judging James Wiseman’s G-league efforts.
Golden State continues to figure out what they have in their youth movement, much like several other teams with recent first round draft picks they’re developing. The difference is the Dubs have championship expectations where every decision is nitpicked and obsessed over. Thankfully they have a championship core to carry them on a nightly basis.
You know who wishes they had either a championship core or the gleaming potential of a gaggle of fresh lottery picks? DA BULLS. Isn’t it kinda crazy that the Bulls have Zach Lavine, DeMar Derozan, and Nikola Vucevic and are pretty much irrelevant? I remember when Chicago having a Big 3 of All-Stars was terrifying at levels even the Golden Empire hasn’t yet surpassed.
But not this Chicago Big 3, no sir. It was just last season they had the red-hot start to the season that had them in the #1 seed during the wintertime and we were being told that THE BULLS WERE BACK.
That’s cute. Back in reality, the eventual NBA champion Warriors swept Chicago last season in humiliating fashion. Who knew starting the season off hot wouldn’t guarantee any success down the road? Also, can you believe Golden State has defeated Chicago eleven straight times?? That’s payback for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s teams whipping the Warriors thirteen straight times from 1989 to 1998.
And as we reach winter this season, the Bulls are 9-13 on the season despite being led by three former All-Stars! How could a team with three All-Stars be this unremarkable? Check out this hilarious summary from Ben Golliver of the Washington Post on Chicago:
Throughout the past two seasons, DeRozan has performed as well as anyone could have hoped, earning some scattered MVP buzz by averaging a career-high 27.9 points per game last year. But he, like LaVine and Vucevic, made little impact against Milwaukee in the postseason. That left Chicago looking like a team that has three all-stars on paper but zero franchise players capable of rising to the occasion in the biggest moments.
Damn it’s a good thing Golden State has All-Stars who are also franchise players capable of rising to the occasion in the biggest moments. Do you think Jordan Poole in that category yet?
is this a blog or a traditional article
Got to figure out how to close blowouts so we can bring back the curry fourth quarter DNPs