May 20, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) shoots the basketball against Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson (13) during the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Steph Curry may have stolen the show on Friday as the Warriors won Game 2 of the Western Finals, but Michigan basketball’s Jordan Poole was also exceptional.
We knew going into the final round of the NBA playoffs conference that a basketball player from Michigan was going to win an NBA championship because every team has at least one Wolverine.
But more and more, it looks like that player could be Jordan Poole as the Warriors close in on another victory to return to the NBA Finals after a 126-117 win.
Curry had a 31-point effort, including stellar fourth-quarter marks as Golden State rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to take a 2-0 lead over the Mavericks, who brag about Michigan’s Trey Burke and also Tim Hardaway Jr. who is injured.
Poole was huge too and he continues to be an X factor off the bench scoring 23 points in just 29 minutes. He had +26, which was the highest rating of any Golden State player and led all players on both teams, adding to his impact.
One of the main reasons for this is the fact that Poole scored 23 points on just 10 field goal attempts. He won seven free throw attempts and made them all, which is no surprise as he led the league in free throw percentage during the regular season.
Poole was also 2 for 4 from 3-point range and added five assists. The former Michigan basketball player who went late to the first round at Golden State is averaging 19.5 points per game in the playoffs, shooting 39% from three and delivering 4.7 assists per game.
And if he continues like this, the former Wolverine could soon be in the NBA Finals.
