Wolverines in the NBA: How Jordan Poole, Duncan Robinson are performing in second round of playoffs
Two former Michigan Wolverines basketball players remain in the 2023 NBA Playoffs — Jordan Poole (Golden State Warriors) and Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat). Poole and his team are down 3-1, facing elimination in Game 5 Wednesday, and Robinson and the Heat are up 3-1 on the New York Knicks.
Poole’s impact — and subsequently, his playing time — has diminished throughout the course of the Western Conference Semifinals. In Game 4 Monday, Poole logged just 10 minutes and went scoreless, shooting 0-for-4 from the field while adding 3 rebounds and 2 assists and turning the ball over twice.
“I’ve got nothing for you,” a frustrated Poole told The Athletic in the locker room afterward.
“It just wasn’t his night,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of the former Michigan guard. “He didn’t have it going. It’s a game where you’re going possession by possession and we had other guys who were playing well. … That doesn’t mean Jordan can’t come in and play a big role in Game 5.”
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One of 10 players in the league to participate in all 82 regular season games, his 10-minute affair Monday marked a season-low, including the playoffs.
Poole scored 5 and 6 points in the previous two contests, respectively, after putting up 21 in Game 1. He has more turnovers (7) than made field goals (5) over his last three outings.
The former Michigan guard was a key force in multiple victories in the first round, with the Warriors beating the Sacramento Kings in seven games. He registered 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a Game 3 victory and 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in a Game 4 triumph. That two-game stretch turned the tide in the series, after the Warriors were down 0-2. The defending NBA champions won four of the next five tilts to advance.
Robinson, a former Michigan sharpshooter, is in a similar situation, though his playing time has long been sparse after signing a huge contract. He wasn’t a mainstay in the rotation at the end of the regular season, but due to an injury and some productive stretches, he earned a role in the postseason.
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Robinson averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 65.4 percent overall and an incredible 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from three-point range in a first-round series upset win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat became the first-ever play-in tournament team to win a postseason series and one of six No. 8 seeds in NBA history to take down the top seed.
Since his hot shooting stretch in the first round, though, Robinson has cooled off. He’s just 5-of-25 shooting from three this series and connecting on a dismal 17.9 percent of his overall field goal attempts. After playing more than 20 minutes in three of the five games against the Bucks, Robinson has hit the 20-minute mark once this series. He’s recorded 13 and 11 minutes in the last two outings, respectively.
Game 5 for the Heat and Knicks is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, followed by Game 5 of Warriors-Lakers at 10 p.m. ET.
Michigan had four total players in the playoffs. Caris LeVert and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Moussa Diabate and the Los Angeles Clippers fell in the first round.
