Warriors May Be Forced To Take This Massive Gamble Following Loss To Suns

The Golden State Warriors were forced to a 6-9 record to start the season after a disappointing 130-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns, and now might be the best time to take a gamble with Jordan Poole being in the starting lineup.

In this situation, it would be Klay Thompson going to the bench and while the entire Warriors fanbase would be unanimously against this move, the Warriors could give it a shot for a little while as they look for ways to get out of a losing record.

Against the Suns, Poole was rendered an ineffective sixth man for 26 minutes of action as he missed all five of his field goal attempts, alongside three attempts from beyond the arc, and put up his lowly two points via the free throw line.

His saving grace for the night was his eight assists as he did what he could to make the Warriors competitive versus a Suns team that uncorked a 21-of-40 three-point shooting barrage–effectively rendering Stephen Curry's 50-point night useless.

Thompson being told to come off the bench would be seen as a massive demotion by head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors' coaching staff since he is still an integral piece to their puzzle.

However, stats would suggest that it might be the best move.

Thompson is currently shooting at a dismal 35.1% from the field this season while only hitting 33 percent of his three-point attempts–a far cry from his career percentages of 45.6 and 41.5 respectively.

Poole is not that much better than Thompson in this regard as he is making 43.8% of his field goal attempts and 34.7 from three, but the latter's numbers this season is closer to his career averages of 41.8% t and 34.% respectively.

But if stats were to be left on the wayside, Poole still has a decent case for starting over Thompson, at least depending on their matchups.

Agile and still leaning on the benefits of his youth, Poole can sink his shots whether he gets it off a pass or is forced to create his own while still finding the open man for some quick assists.

On the other hand, Thompson has clearly lost a step in his quest to prove that he still remains a top shooting guard and is sometimes even being exploited on defense, especially during this game against the Suns.

Warriors fans would argue that Poole is a worse defender than Thompson at this point and while that may have some semblance of truth in it, it is not as if Thompson being a starter is making much of a dent on defense anyways.

Golden State is currently ranked 29th in the league in terms of points allowed with an eye-watering 118.3–highly uncharacteristic of the Warriors' once-vaunted defense that teams are now just carving up.

To drive home that point, the Warriors have allowed opposing teams to score beyond 115 points seven times with the loss to the Suns being the eighth such occurrence.

Granted, Thompson is a notable slow starter throughout his NBA career and while he is expected to get back to his natural self around January, the Warriors need to string together some wins in the meanwhile.

Meaning, Thompson may have to sacrifice for a while for the greater good of the Warriors.

Poole has also been relatively off compared to his star-making season last year, but his quality of play has been relatively the same despite being a hot-and-cold hand to start the season.

Golden State has nothing left to lose at this point as they have already established themselves as the kings of the past decade on a team that was built on the foundation of team play and sacrificing for one another.

Thompson lost nearly three years of his career due to injury and is still finding his footing in a league that has changed drastically since his All-Star years.

Temporarily giving way to Poole, who is nearly 10 years his junior, might be the best course of action in the short term as the Warriors desperately search for something that gets them out of the basement.