Warriors guard Jordan Poole had a tense encounter with reporters who gathered around his locker following Golden State’s Game 4 loss to the Lakers on Monday.
As described by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke, who was in the visitor locker room at Crypto.com Arena, the struggling Poole seemed reluctant to talk about being “in a little bit of a funk.”
“It’s been a while since he spoke but before we get to the words he said, let me just paint a picture of what that locker room was like,” Burke said.
“So Warriors PR was coming over and saying ‘Jordan, would you please talk postgame?’ He seemed a little reluctant. You could tell he was very frustrated. He was facing his locker, actually, so as the reporters gathered around him, when it became clear he would talk to us, his back was to us.”
Burke went on to say that “all eyes and ears were on Jordan” when the music inside the locker room stopped playing, and that “it just heightened the tension.”
Poole’s production in the second-round series has dipped after scoring 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting in Golden State’s Game 1 loss to the Lakers.
He has scored a total of 11 points over the last three games on 5-of-19 shooting, including posting a goose egg in 11 minutes of Game 4 time while sitting out the fourth quarter as the Warriors fell into a 3-1 hole against LeBron James and the Lakers.
The 23-year-old also missed a deep three-pointer to force overtime in Game 1.
“Just reviewing some of the things he said, it was some pretty short answers,” Burke said, explaining Poole was clearly frustrated and “didn’t want to talk about himself” — and just said repeatedly that the Warriors have another game in a few days.
“I asked him, I was like ‘Jordan, we know your work ethic is good. When you feel like you’re in a little bit of a funk, when things don’t seem normal, what are you doing? Are you getting back in the gym?’
“He said, ‘Well, my work ethic doesn’t change, my routine doesn’t change. Maybe opportunity changes but you can only control what you can control.'”
Per Burke, the tension was cut as the music was turned back on in the locker room and some players laughed.
Steph Curry, who spoke to reporters at the podium postgame, was asked about Poole’s “struggles with consistency” in the series, and his message to the young guard.
“We get questions about him a lot, and our whole team, we’re in this together in the sense of trying to figure out how to win playoff games,” Curry said.
“We all have to make adjustments. We all have to play better considering we’re in a 3-1 hole. So there’s no sense in isolating him in this situation. It’s all about collective, what can we all do to be better.”
The Warriors and Poole agreed to a four-year contract extension, worth up to $140 million in October, after he was a key piece in the Warriors’ championship run last year.
Poole — the 28th overall pick in the 2019 draft — started 51 games for the Warriors last season, averaging career highs in points (18.5), assists (4.0) and rebounds (3.4). He also led the NBA in free throw percentage last season at 92.5%.
The Warriors face elimination with Game 5 set for Wednesday at Chase Center.