Right after Game 2 ended, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant appeared to share some words with Steph Curry. When asked about it in his postgame presser, Morant shared how playing against the Warriors is his “favorite matchup.”
There are bold takes, and then there is the one former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker made on Fox Sports’ “First Things First.”
But is it really as co-host Nick Wright puts it, a “nuclear take”?
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This is the key line from Walker, the former three-time NBA All-Star and NBA champion. “Jordan Poole is the best player on the Warriors right now,” Walker asserted.
Jordan Poole obviously has had a breakout season for the Golden State Warriors. In the playoffs, he’s shooting 55.1 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range, averaging 22.3 points per game and 5.9 assists. He’s also been on the plus side five out of seven games in plus-minus, including an integral +10 in Game 1 vs. the Grizzlies, arguably their best offensive player. In. That. One. Game.
Steph Curry unequivocally is an NBA legend, but the playoff numbers are similar. The greatest shooter of all time is 47.4% from the field, 38.6 from 3-point range, averaging 27.3 points per game and 5.6 assists. Curry has been on the plus side four out of seven games in plus-minus. He’s also had a wider variance, including an incredible +32 in Game 2 vs. the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
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It’s mostly a fool’s errand since this doesn’t take into account most advanced metrics or the fact that most opponents’ entire gameplan starts with how do they stop Curry. Also, Poole’s defense still is very much a work in progress, while Curry had a huge stop against Ja Morant at the end of Game 1 against the Grizzlies.
In the end, this is more of a testament to Poole’s dramatic ascendance that this would even be in the “nuclear take” realm. Curry continues to build on an all-time legacy. It's a Warriors win-win.