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The perceived dynamic duo of Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma in Washington D.C. has steadily unraveled, with SB Nation labelling the Wizards stars as the “worst 1-2 punch” in the league.
SB Nations cited how Poole and Kuzma have a combined -32.1 net rating in the ongoing season. Further “red flags” were considered, including 43 turnovers due to poor passes, 31 shot attempts which were blocked, both allowing 122 points per 100 possessions defensively and a value over replacement player of -0.3.
What the stats suggest is that they are meeting the threshold of being two average NBA players right now when they play together. More telling, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole are being paid a combined $53 million this season.
NBA fans took note of the data presented and laid it out on comments on social media. Here's what they had to say over X (formerly Twitter):
@SPORTSDEBATE_X wrote: More like a 3-4 punch
@OriginalXXIX wrote: Jordan Poole familiar with punches he’ll be aight
@austingsw_ wrote: They so bad
@AndyLicious96 wrote: Poole and Kuzma every game
@LeCap623 wrote: This time will always be remembered in wizards history
@TheCorey01 wrote: I thought Poole was meant to be like Steph Curry....
@camyoppenheimer wrote: Can people now stop acting like Kuzma is or even was any good
@aifutureproof wrote: For some reason I feel like they'd make a great buddy cop film.
@AshClashYT wrote: Worst in history right?
@TheMangleLorian wrote: More like Hawaiian Punch !
The Wizards are 3-15 this season, 14th in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Kuzma is pacing the team with 23.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists, while Jordan Poole has put up 17.4 points, 3.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma is still behind Jordan Poole amid struggles
While Jordan Poole is obviously struggling in his first year with Washington Wizards, his running mate Kyle Kuzma maintains his support and believes that the enigmatic guard will eventually find consistency in his play.
Poole joined Washington in the offseason from the Golden State Warriors, where he spent his first four years in the NBA, playing alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. He was traded in exchange for future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul and other assets.
While Poole has had his moments with the Wizards, by and large, it has not panned out as well as he would have hoped early in the season, with the team bottom-scraping with a 3-15 record.
In one of his postgame interviews, Kyle Kuzma shared his thoughts on what Poole is going through and said that he's giving his teammate some slack. ‘Kuz’ said (via Hoop District):
"Everybody is behind him and knows he'll get out of it. He's a worker. He loves basketball, very passionate. It's tough. When you're coming from being a third or fourth option, I can speak on this because I've done it, and you're coming into a new situation where you're more of a focal point.”
“It's tough sometimes because it's a lot of responsibility. You have to be able to produce at a high level but get your teammates involved, too. I think sometimes he just overthinks himself a little bit. And kind of messes him up a little bit."
Jordan Poole won the NBA title with the Warriors in 2022 and averaged 15.8 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds during his stay in the Bay Area.
