JJ Redick discusses Jordan Poole's potential to fill in Steph Curry’s shoes after his injury: “Steph creates off the dribble like a motherfu**er too”
Steph Curry’s injury is a big blow to the Golden State Warriors' hopes of repeating as NBA champions. How well can Jordan Poole fill in during Curry’s absence? On “The Old Man & the Three” podcast, former NBA player JJ Redick discussed the team’s prospects without its star point guard.
"Steph creates off the dribble like a moth*******r, too," Redick said. "But, you know, outside of Steph, they don't have efficient scorers off the dribble."
Redick said that Jordan Poole gives the Warriors (15-16), who are in 11th place in the Western Conference, a different element to create off the dribble.
Curry's injury comes when he was playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 assist and a career-high 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Warriors will have to depend on their veterans who have been there before along with young talent who will have to fill in some crucial minutes. Curry's absence leaves a lot of shots (20.2 per game) to be had by the rest of the team. Poole and Klay Thompson are expected to see a lot of those touches.
Redick speculated what Curry’s absence means for another player:
"This could be really interesting to see over the stretch is Draymond, because when he plays with Steph, he's really never looking for his shot."
Green’s overall offensive production has been down for the past few years as he has worked mostly as a facilitator. But during the team’s first few championship runs, the offense used to run through him.
In the Warriors’ 126-110 win over the Toronto Raptors, he looked more like the Draymond Green of old. He took a season-high 15 shots and totaled 17 points while Poole went off for a career-best 43 points.
The Warriors will be in prime time
With Steph Curry out with a left shoulder injury, the Warriors will be on centerstage. The team has games on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York against the New York Knicks (17-13) and the Brooklyn Nets (19-12). Then on Christmas Day, they will face off against the Memphis Grizzlies (in prime time.
Golden State’s next three games will be on national television – all against surging teams. New York (on TNT) has won seven in a row. Brooklyn (on NBA TV) has won six consecutive games (and 10 of 11). Memphis (on ABC and ESPN), which leads the West, won nine of 10 games before losing Saturday to the OKC Thunder.
The good news for the Warriors is that, after their stint in New York, they have an eight-game homestand. The team is 12-2 at home this year (3-14 on the road), and having the comfort of playing at home may help while their best player is out.