The Golden State Warriors were inches away from potentially sending Game 1 to overtime.
Jordan Poole pulled up from way downtown to try and tie the game with eight seconds left.
He was wide open but couldn’t hit on the 30-footer, prompting plenty of criticism on social media.
However, former NBA player JJ Redick believes it wasn’t a bad shot.
.@jj_redick says he has NO issues with Jordan Poole's final shot 👀 pic.twitter.com/X1kmuZAwQ6
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 3, 2023
Redick points out the fact that Poole knew he might not get another clean look later in the game, as Darvin Ham could’ve told the Lakers to foul him.
More than that, Poole is no stranger to knocking down 30-footers, so even if that might’ve seen like a bad shot for the average NBA player, he’s not the average NBA player.
Notably, Poole has been on the wrong end of several late-game blunders throughout his career, which is perhaps why people are being so hard on him.
But the reality is that coach Steve Kerr chose not to call a timeout, meaning he also trusted Poole to get that shot up with the game on the line.
Poole got a big payday in the offseason thanks to his sharpshooting and shot-making abilities, and you always want your shooters to shoot.
Otherwise, why is he even on the floor?
Of course, everybody would much rather have Stephen Curry taking that shot instead of Poole.
But there’s a reason why Steph was double-teamed and Poole’s closest defender was far away from him.
It was the right shot, even if he could’ve taken a couple of steps forward.
NEXT: Draymond Green Comments On Warriors' Adjustments For Game 2
