Welcome to The Poole Party

It was a cold Wednesday, for me at least in Ohio, I was already pre-stressed because watching a team that's tanking is not for the faint of heart. Anything for my fav though. I mentally prepared for this game because the last game was a little wonky and I just needed to pick me up. On a typical game day I tweet (it’s always twitter to me) out “Jordan Poole will have an amazing game tonight.” I missed two games and we are not going to talk about what happened during those games but just know I am now forced to tweet this every single game day. Early in the day I had to adjust it to Jordan will have a great bounce back game and that’s exactly what we got.

If you haven't been keeping up, Jordan has been the main point guard majority of the time since the season has started. They stressed me out to the max throughout preseason with letting the others handled the ball more than Jordan, after last season I have a little ptsd. I also remember people telling me that Jordan could not be the point guard because that was not his position even though Jordan himself has said that it is his natural position several times. Now I just side eye those individuals because if you don't believe Jordan saying it, why on earth would you believe me.

PG Poole came out the gate trying to get his teammates involved using his spacing and his passing to get them open looks. One thing that I have learned about the Wizards is they tend to use the first quarter as a feel out. I’ll assume because they have two rookies and a sophomore starting consistently and when Kuz was out a 3rd rookie starting. The first quarter is rough because they have to see what the other team is bringing to the table. I typically see more adjustments towards the middle to end of the first quarter or in the second quarter where it becomes more of a competitive game. This first quarter was no different within the 1st 2 minutes and 13 seconds the spurs had a 13 – 3 start which caused BK to call a timeout. For what felt like forever, scoring was nonexistent, and defense looked optional for the Wizards. Wemby exploited the defense and the fact that no one could guard him and it was raining buckets for San Antonio.

From turnovers, lack of defense, lack of rebounding, to barely being able to buy a bucket it was looking rough. After watching every game this season I decided not to panic because I see this pattern a lot. When you have a really young starting lineup especially 2, sometimes 3 players that have never played against these teams before they have no idea what's going to happen other than what they watch on film and prepare for. Nothing is like the live experience.

BK brought in JV in for Sarr in hopes of getting some rebounds and more defense and also brings in Corey for Kuz in hopes of getting some shooting going. The score is 25 to 9 then Kyshawn comes in for Bub and this group gets the Wizards back in the game. Part of being a point guard is being able to make decisions on the fly and since they are leading the offense, they decide what's best at that time. Jordan was playing very aggressive and made a three initially putting the first points on the board in the corner but spent a lot of time driving to the basket. I've said before one of my favorite parts of his game is his quickness. He took matters into his own hands to get them back in the game and was able to blow by the defenders and gets 10 points in the first quarter. Kyshawn, Bub and Corey were able to get some 3’s as well. They went on a quick run to catch up in about 3 minutes. Jordan and Bilal played all but 30 seconds of the first quarter. That quarter ended with the spurs up 32 and the Wizards had 31. Nice recovery.

The second quarter Bub came out to lead that unit along with Corey, Kyshawn Kuz and JV. JV made a huge Impact on the game by achieving a double double within 12 minutes and  by utilizing his veteran experience drawing fouls on Wemby. The game was now competitive. With that experience from the first quarter, they were able to make some adjustments into the second quarter, Corey came out hitting 3’s along with Kyshawn and Bub. JV an Wemby were going back and forth with the shots but Wemby was pretty unstoppable. It’s almost not fair to be able to hit 3’s like he was being that tall.

One thing I noticed with Sarr is he really likes to take the 3 but right now he’s 8/48 from 3 and 27/54 from 2 for the season. Not sure why both attempts are so similar but I really want him to utilize his size and get in the paint more. He’s 50% in 2 pointers so why not continue to focus on that.  Jordan comes back in the game and is quickly able to score on a 4 point play which should have been a reckless closeout but the referees never do Jordan any favors. That quarter Jordan scored nine points at 100% fg percentage. They were back in the game and at halftime tied at 67.

The 3rd quarter, where everything crumbles. For some reason that third quarter is just not good for the Wizards, I'm not sure if it’s from the break from the court but it's almost like a reset instead of them carrying over from what they did in the second quarter. Starting off 3rd  quarter Jordan is on the bench and Kuz Comes out the gate and hits a 3 pointer but that is erased because they had two back-to-back turnovers immediately after. They let the game get away from them with some of the same old habits from the first quarter and Wemby walks away with 43 points and the Spurs up 108 to 91. The Wizards could not buy a basket and the defense wasn’t there either in that quarter but fear not, grab those floaties because it's time for a Poole Party.

Jordan was on the bench the first part of the 4th quarter while the carry over from the 3rd quarter shenanigans but they were at least able to get some shots in. Kyshawn comes in for Kuz at 9:22. Jordan entered back into the game at 7:30 and Wemby goes to the bench with 50 points while the Spurs were up 120 to 101, it looked like It was over.

 Jordan already having 27 points entering that 4th came out the gate on a mission, putting the team on his back. He was determined to bring them back in the game and he did just that. First possession, feeding the ball to JV for a midrange jumper. Next posessional Corey also hits a push shot.  Jordan gets a steal and quickly gets a crossed the court for a layup causing the Spurs to call a timeout. The Wizards came out serious dDefensively and were able to get some stops and maximize their possessions by scoring.

Next possession, Kyshawn passed the ball to Jordan who hits a 3 and is now up to 32 points. Next possession, a pass from JV to a cutting Jordan and another 2 points. Corey feeds JV in the paint and another one. Spurs quickly call a timeout, the lead trickled down and it was now 124 to 115. Wemby is back in. Jordan hits a spin move an is able to get to the basket. 36 points. Jordan fakes out a 3 but passes to Corey who hits the 3, it’s not a 8 point game. Jordan utilizes his speed again to get another layup. 38 points. Using his handles to beat his defender Jordan gets another layup high off the glass. 40 points. JV get fouled and hits both free throws.  There’s a minute and 8 seconds left and they are down but 6.  Spurs hit a shot right at the buzzer pushing the lead. Jordan drives to the basket and gets the foul to head to the free throw line. Swish. Swish. 42 points.

Unfortunately the Wizards fall but there were a lot of great things that I can pull from the game. A lot of ball movement and unselfish basketball happening. BK’s Favorite thing to say is resilience and in this game they showed a lot of it. It would have been easy to give up after that third quarter and hang their heads because they blew a tied game but they kept pushing and almost snatched it back. As time contI think that they will get better with being able to play the full four quarters, That's the biggest problem I see in the team but it's understandable when you are starting a lot of rookies and also giving those rookies a lot of playing time.

Jordan scored 15 points in the last 6 minutes of the game and got them very close. The Wizards are in a rebuild so they're more focused on improvement and building better habits than they are winning. As a fan, all I ask for is a competitive game and of course Jordan to do well then I'm a happy woman. Jordan ended the game with 42 points, one point shy of his career high, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. He had an extremely efficient game, 15 of 22 in field goals which is 68% and was 6 of 9 from three, 66%. I’m all about ethical hoops so you know I'm happy that he accomplished this only having 6 free throw attempts, which of course he made them all. This game for Jordan was a beautiful brand of basketball, he made all the right decisions, he was able to get his teammates open and i think that once the shots start falling consistently for everyone else Jordan can be a walking double double. Jordan has a very extensive bag and I truly love games where he puts it on display. He's such a talented basketball player that I think people forget how multifaceted his game is and want tov label him under one category. This year I've seen how much more complete Jordan is as a player and just proof of the hard work and dedication that he's put in in general but especially this summer.

It's also part of the reason why I have never wavered from being a fan of his. We heard all about when he was with Golden State and how he was a gym rat, he was able to learn from two of the greatest shooters of all time and I never believed that the 2021 dash 2022 year was a fluke. The talent was there and it's never left him. I've been patiently waiting for this moment because I always knew we would have this season as an All Star season, even in the midst of the struggles last season I just kn this comeback would be better than anything we've seen. I keep going back to a lot of the struggles of last year may have been a blessing in disguise because it has forced some adjustments in his game and to break away from the warriors style of play which can be hard because that's what he's known all throughout the beginning of his care It's very entertaining to see the switch up in real time and all the haters having to eat their words. I hope they taste really good.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. Psalms 23:5

SDot