Wolverine Digest

Jordan Poole Goes Off...Again

Former Michigan standout Jordan Poole is playing out of his mind in the NBA Playoffs.

Brandon Brown

Jordan Poole was solid at Michigan. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.8 points per game and showed flashes of being a fantastic offensive player, but most people thought his decision to leave early for the NBA was too hasty. Boy, were those people wrong. Poole has become a bonafide scorer in the NBA and he's a major reason why NBA analysts now think the Golden State Warriors have a real shot at winning the title this year.

Poole was in the G-League last year and is now a regular contributor and sometimes-starter for one of the league's most explosive teams. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry have long been known as 'The Splash Brothers' and are widely accepted as the best shooting duo in the history of the league. Amazingly, the duo has now become a trio with the emergence of Poole.

In his first two playoff games ever, Poole has dropped a massive 59 points and is shooting a blistering 59% from three-point range. And we're not talking about wide open, catch-and-shoot threes. Poole is breaking dudes down off the dribble, stepping back and stroking 30-footers. The kid is simply on a tear.

Poole's 10 made three-pointers is the most in a player’s first two playoff games in NBA History. His scoring total puts him in elite company with Wilt Chamberlain as the only Warriors players with 25 points in each of their first two career playoff games. In fact, his 59 points through two games only trails Chamberlain by just four points in Warriors playoff history.

With Curry coming back from an ankle injury and on a bit of a minutes restriction, Poole has gotten the start in the Warriors first two playoff games and they're up 2-0 against the Denver Nuggets. Curry himself went off for 34 points last night in just 23 minutes of action so he won't be coming off the bench for long. All that means, is that Poole can come in off the bench with the sole purpose of scoring as many points as humanly possible in as little time as he can. That might actually be an even bigger issue for the Nuggets then if Poole was in the starting lineup. 

It sure has been fun watching the former Wolverine go off on the NBA's biggest stage and it's going to be a lot of fun for Poole when he sits down to sign his contract extension. Poole is eligible for his rookie extension after this season and word on the street is that it's going to be in the $80 million range. From leaving Michigan too early to inking an $80 million deal...not too shabby.

Welcome to the Poole Party.

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Brandon Brown
BRANDON BROWN

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