Jordan Poole admits it wasn’t easy missing 18 games while dealing with a quadricep strain.
Poole was often seen holding a basketball or dribbling one during timeouts as he was relegated to just watching in street clothes from the bench.
“I didn’t like it,” Poole said. “I didn’t like it at all. But I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Poole is now two games into his return after playing Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers and then again Sunday against the Chicago Bulls. The Pelicans are 2-0 since Poole came back. In fact, they are 3-0 in the last three games he’s played. They beat the Charlotte Hornets in early November, his last game before the injury that sidelined him for five weeks.
Poole said he also was dealing with an injury in the first seven games he played to start the season.
“It’s one of those things where no matter what I did or no matter what treatment or recovery work that I did, the injury itself just needed time,” Poole said. “I was basically doing 24 hours around the clock of treatment and recovery trying to make the most of the opportunity of having time off. But also pushing myself that when I come back, I’m able to make an impact.”
Poole scored 22 points against the Blazers and 16 against the Bulls. He came off the bench in both games, just like he did in three of the seven games to start the season.
Poole, acquired in the offseason in the CJ McCollum trade, is averaging 17.7 points and 3.4 assists in the nine games he’s played since arriving in New Orleans.
“He's just a savvy scorer,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said. “He just knows how to score. Gets to the free-throw line. Gets downhill. Makes plays. Steadies the gym when it needs to be steadied. He keeps constant pressure on the defense. You can just feel him out there. He’s always live.”
And he’s always trying to make sure the crowd is live, too. After making a layup midway through the fourth quarter against the Blazers, Poole was waving his arms and yelling to the crowd to “come on.”
“I’ve always been that type of player,” Poole said. “I know how important it is to have the crowd on our side. I know how important it is to have them engaged. We have fans who love to watch hoops. Obviously, we have to give them something to cheer for. It’s a two-way street.”
While Poole’s return has made an impact, he’s still waiting for his 3-point shot to come back around. He’s made just 5 of 20 from long distance in his two games back. He’ll try to get back on track Thursday when the Pelicans (5-22) host the Houston Rockets (16-7).
Even when his shot isn't falling, Poole helps in other ways.
“I think just his overall impact on the game is tremendous,” Borrego said. “He can go on a big run by himself. He can turn a two-point game into a six-point or eight-point game quickly on both ends of the floor. He’s coming with the right mentality. He’s not trying to force it. He’s trying to play within our system and be a team guy and that’s what we need.”
Poole is just glad to be playing ball again.
“It was the first time in my career that I sat out that many games,” he said. “I’m back.”