[Saba Sports News] On Monday, Jordan Poole’s play was reminiscent of JR Smith’s infamous blunders. The Washington Wizards guard made a questionable decision in the fourth quarter of his team’s defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks, which could be considered for the Shaqtin’ Moment of the Year. With his team behind by ten points, Poole allowed the ball to roll on the court after an inbounds pass, a tactic known as “walking the dog” typically used to save time.
This strategy is often employed by teams in the lead to consume the clock or by players trying to conserve a few seconds before the shot clock activates, usually in 2-for-1 scenarios. Although “walking the dog” delays the start of the shot clock until the ball is touched, in this instance, it continued to reduce the game time.
This oversight by Poole was likely due to a misunderstanding of the rules, as the game clock only halts in dead-ball situations in the final two minutes. Since Poole’s move occurred with more than four minutes remaining, he unintentionally wasted over ten seconds that the Wizards needed for a potential comeback.
The Wizards eventually lost to Milwaukee 142-129, dropping their record to a dismal 2-11 for the season. Despite scoring 30 points in the game, Poole’s season average stands at an inefficient 16.6 points per game as a key offensive player for the Wizards. This incident isn’t the first time Poole has had an embarrassing moment during his short tenure with the team.