Saturday night, the New Orleans Pelicans had a bounce-back win over the Philadelphia 76ers 126-111 after falling the previous night to the Milwaukee Bucks. Although 37-year-old DeAndre Jordan's starting stole headlines, the real story of this game was Jordan Poole's resurrection.
For Poole, this was not just a big game but a game he needed.
After being out of the rotation for the team's final nine games heading into the All-Star break, interim head coach James Borrego has thrown Poole back into the mix, and it paid off on Saturday. Poole finished the game with 23 points, three rebounds, and five assists, and shot an efficient 53.3 percent from the field. What made this performance so big was that 18 of his 23 points came in the second half, when the Pelicans struggled to find offense. JP took over. He was hitting one-legged running floaters, deep threes, and just in general getting whatever he wanted offensively.
With Dejounte Murray expected to make his return this week after being upgraded to questionable ahead of Saturday's game, the Pelicans guard room is getting crowded. But Jordan Poole may have resolidified his spot with his performance against Philly.
The right game at the right time
What Poole did against Philly was a reminder that he possesses a skill set no other guard on the Pelicans roster can match, with his self-creation and floor-spacing ability. Sure, many fans have wondered what the second half of the season would look like for Poole, and the answer appeared to have only gotten more complicated with Murray's pending return. But after watching JP drain five threes at home the other night, it's clear that he must remain a part of the team's rotation.
Poole played the entire game against the 76ers like he had a massive chip on his shoulder; every shot he took, he took with confidence, as if he were proving something.
Poole was taken out of the rotation before the deadline because the team was shopping him. Now, his role is threatened by the return of another guard. This could be make or break for Poole, and he understands that, so if he can maintain carrying that chip on his shoulder the rest of the season, we are going to start to see way more performances like he had Saturday night.
If that's the case, New Orleans can quickly become one of the teams that is a matchup no team in the playoff race wants to see through the final 20-ish games, because they have talent that their 16-42 record doesn't reflect.