Why Jordan Poole is Better than Kevin Porter Jr.

Jordan Poole has been very underrated, even after impressive performances last year. Here is why he is better than Kevin Porter Jr.

Scoring

Jordan Poole is a far better scorer than KPJ. Per 75 possessions, Poole averages 21.7 points on 58.1% true shooting (0.5% RTS). True shooting is a stat that helps measure a player’s efficiency and Relative True Shooting is the player's true shooting minus league average. KPJ averages 18.4 points per 75 possessions on 52.8% true shooting (-4.8% RTS). As you can see, Poole is the more efficient scorer by a large margin.

Playmaking

Assists aren’t a good evaluator of playmaking because some players can pass the ball and their teammate can do the shot creation. Scorers who have low assist numbers can also be good playmakers because they apply pressure to defenses. Box creation and passer rating are stats that help judge how good players are at playmaking. Box creation is a measure of how often a player creates an opportunity for their team. Passer rating takes into account free throws, turnovers, and potential primary or secondary assists. Kevin Porter Jr had a box creation of 7.7 and a 7.1 passer rating. Jordan Poole had a box creation of 5.7 and a 5.3 passer rating. Even though Kevin Porter Jr is the better playmaker, the gap in scoring is larger than the gap in playmaking.

Defense

Although there isn’t a good stat for individual defense, we can see how well the team's defense is when the player is on the court.

Defensive rating is how many points a team allows per 100 possessions, so the lower the better. The When Poole is on the court, the Warriors defensive rating decreases by 1. When Porter Jr. is on the court, the Rockets’ defensive rating increases by 8. We can clearly see that Poole is better defensively.

The gap in scoring and defense is larger than the gap in playmaking, which is why I think Jordan Poole is the better player. Poole will most likely be the starter until Klay Thompson comes back, so he will have a chance to show what he can do with a larger role this season.