Party or problem? Warriors need Jordan Poole to step up in Game 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson offered some advice to Jordan Poole after the young guard had a poor performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night.

“Relax and not be too hard on yourself,” Thompson said Saturday after practice.

Easier said than done, sure. But Thompson, who sees a younger version of himself in Poole, could empathize with the emotions the 22-year-old was experiencing after the Warriors’ disappointing 120-108 loss to the Celtics that featured an epic fourth quarter collapse.

“You want to be great every night, but the nature of the beast, it’s not like that unfortunately,” Thompson said. “There’s going to be lulls and there’s going to be highs, and just stay even-keeled and realize it’s the war of attrition at this point in the year.”

Boston’s physical defense rocked Poole, preventing him from getting into rhythm Thursday night. Poole dribbled too much and at times chose to attack the rim, where he was shut down by a green wall, rather than looking for open teammates. He scored just nine points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field (1-of-5 from deep) and accounted for four of the Warriors’ 14 turnovers.

Poole’s shortcomings on the other end of the ball are no secret to opponents either. The Warriors went with a zone defense to help cover Poole’s defensive struggles, but the Celtics still managed to outscore the Warriors by 19 points in the 25 minutes Poole was on the court.

Even after the dud of an NBA Finals debut, the Warriors are still confident in the rising star and expect him to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday.

“He doesn’t have to change anything about the way he plays or the way he attacks or where he feels the most confident in terms of making an impact on the game,” Stephen Curry said.

Added coach Steve Kerr, “Ultimately you trust that like any player who has made the impact that he has, you trust that there’s going to be some ups and downs. I thought it was a tough night for him, but I have full confidence that [Sunday] will be much better.”

Poole has had a rollercoaster postseason after a breakout performance in his playoff debut against the Nuggets in the first round. He averaged 17.8 points on 52.3% shooting and dished out 4.4 assists per game in the postseason. Those are pale in comparison to his numbers during his end-of-the-season tear when he stepped up in place of Curry, who was nursing a foot injury.

In his final 13 regular season games without the Warriors superstar, Poole averaged 26 points, 5.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

With the Warriors trailing 1-0 for the first time this postseason, Poole will either be the part of the problem or the solution for Golden State moving forward against the Celtics. They need his offensive production, though they have to find ways to help make up for his issues on defense.

Poole’s mindset for Game 2 on Sunday is simple.

“Come ready to play and try to get a win out,” he said.

Poole needs to be more aggressive and efficient if the Warriors want a shot at their fourth title in eight years, and it’s a challenge he’s willingly accepted.

“We’ve got to find the spots, find the openings in their defense, continue to be aggressive, get my teammates going as well,” said Poole, who’s never short on confidence. “Just look forward to the next game and continue to do what I do.”

Thompson believes “great things are going to happen” for Poole if he sticks with his process.

“He’s already proved how vital he is to our team,” Thompson said. “I just remind Jordan, we all have bad games. Even the greatest to ever play have had bad games.”

The Warriors have tried to stay at ease and not over-stress in the two days since the Celtics came from behind — highlighted by a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter — to beat Golden State.

“We’ve been through battles before with the guys on our team, so trying to keep it as normal as possible,” Poole said.

But the Warriors can’t afford anymore mediocre outings from Poole if they want to hoist the Larry O’Brien championship trophy at the end of this series.