What Jordan Poole's Injury Status Means For Warriors-Kings Game 2 On Monday
Looking like they were going to come away with a Game 1 road victory on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors ended up losing 126-123 to the Sacramento Kings.
While this is not a big deal for the defending NBA champions, as they know that they have what it takes to beat anyone in a seven-game series, there is a slight concern for one of their key contributor's availability.
During Game 1, Warriors guard Jordan Poole appeared to roll his left ankle on a layup attempt and was visibly bothered by said injury.
Ahead of Game 2 on Monday, the Warriors have listed Poole as "questionable" and according to ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Poole had a visible limp after Saturday's game and had his left ankle heavily wrapped.
Playing a total of 22 minutes off-the-bench in the first game of this series, Poole recorded 17 points and three assists.
Alongside Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole played in all 82 regular season games for the Warriors this season, so he is not necessarily one to sit out games due to injuries. However, Poole spent a good amount of time with Rick Celebrini, the team's head of medicine, during Monday's shootaround and was seen leaving the court after talking with him, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
Should Jordan Poole be unable to play in Game 2 for the Warriors, this will result in both Donte DiVincenzo and Gary Payton II seeing more time for Golden State. In Game 1, DiVincenzo only played in 20 minutes as a starter and Payton only played 20 minutes off-the-bench.
The Warriors would lose a chunk of their offensive production with Poole out of the lineup, but defensively, Poole ended up being a liability in Game 1.
Both De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk looked to target the Warriors guard when he was on the floor and the Kings found a lot of success attacking the paint and rim against Poole.
This is something they may not be able to do as often with Donte DiVincenzo and Gary Payton II on the floor, as they are both known to be better on-ball defenders than Jordan Poole.
As for the Kings, the Warriors being without a key offensive contributor definitely increases their chances to take a 2-0 series lead, as offensive production is what will ultimately win this series.
During the regular season, the Kings ranked first in offensive rating and the Warriors ranked eighth. As cliché as it sounds, whoever can outscore the other is going to win and move on to the next round, which is why Poole potentially missing Game 2 could be significant for both teams.
Jordan Poole will likely go through some type of pre-game routine before the Warriors make a final decision on his status for Game 2 on Monday night.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
