Jordan Poole’s first stint as a bench player with the Washington Wizards didn’t go as planned.
The 24-year-old guard, who played a key role off the bench in the Warriors’ 2022 championship run before being traded last July, was involved in a turnover during the second half of a 130-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets. I frowned. on Thursday.
With just over 30 seconds left in the third quarter, Poole tried to inbound the ball but appeared to pass a rock to Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray instead. Murray made an easy layup on the other side of the court to clinch overtime. They led 101-83 at Ball Arena in Denver.
Poole came off the bench and scored 18 points, but made just 4 of 17 from the field.
But it was the third-quarter turnover that really bothered some fans.
“Jordan Poole is doing his best,” Rob Perez (@WorldwideWob) wrote in a post to X that included the play.
“There is no way,” Posted by another X user.
Poole hesitated several times before sending a short pass that was intercepted by Murray, but his body language suggested that Poole immediately regretted his mistake.
Poole put his hands in the air next to his head and looked confused before returning to the court.
Wizards guard Corey Kispert threw away three Nuggets defenders and called for an inbounds pass right in front of Poole.
Kispert was a candidate to replace Poole in the starting lineup when Poole was moved to the bench for Thursday’s game, but he appeared frustrated after the game.
It was a tough battle for the Wizards, especially in the second half.
Three of Washington’s first five possessions in the fourth quarter ended in steals by Nuggets players.
Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe said Poole would start in Washington’s first 52 games before moving to the bench for Thursday’s game against Denver.
During this period, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 40.0 percent from the field.
The Warriors traded Poole, who played a key sixth-man role in their run to the playoffs two years ago, to Washington in July.
But things are very different in the nation’s capital.
The Wizards (9-46) are 14th in the Eastern Conference, just one spot ahead of the last-place Detroit Pistons.
They will visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at 8pm ET.
