The wing player Jordan Poole takes jumpers that a filmmaker would deem unrealistic in a movie about a troublesome high school basketball team. First, two weeks ago, after hitting the Pistons’s Cade Cunningham with a stepback that put Cunningham’s buttocks on the hardwood, Poole paused and admired his work, then stupefyingly tried to take a layup, only to get the layup unceremoniously blocked by Ausar Thompson. Then, on Sunday night, after trying and failing to sell a foul on a three point shot, the Wizards intercepted the ball and Poole, who picked up the loose ball, slipped on the court like Charlie Brown. It was a sluggish play, and it seemed relatively innocuous to the naked eye, but if you have been tuning into the Wizards all year, you can’t help but see this pursuit for a foul as a failure of competitive spirit.
© 2024 Jayson Buford
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