Kurtenbach: The Warriors found a ‘blueprint’ for winning without Steph Curry — it requires Jordan Poole to be a superstar

For the Warriors, figuring out how to win without Steph Curry in the lineup for the next month is a challenge. After all, the Warriors were winning as much as they were losing with the MVP candidate in the lineup.

But the Dubs think they cracked the case on Sunday in Toronto.

“I look at it like this is the blueprint,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game.

“It provides a blueprint,” Draymond Green said not long after.

Yes, a blueprint. One that shows that the Warriors’ success the next few weeks without Curry starts and ends with Jordan Poole.

This is his moment, again.

Poole came into his own as a player of quality — something more than a bust — when Curry broke his tailbone in the 2021 pandemic-delayed season. The Warriors called on Poole — recently back from a stint in the G-League — to take on significant minutes and serious offensive responsibilities in Curry’s absence.

Someone had to create on offense and it wasn’t going to be Brad Wanamaker or Alen Smailagić.

Poole played an average of 35 minutes per game for the five games Curry missed in March 2021. He averaged 20 points per contest and shot 46 percent from the floor. He wasn’t perfect — far from it — it was a stretch that hinted that he could be the heir to Curry’s throne one day.

And this is the stretch where he proves that he’s that guy.

Sunday was a great start.

Poole won’t score 43 points every night, because he won’t consistently shoot 61 percent, but the way he played is what the Warriors need. It’s something Poole can recreate for every game.

Before the season, Poole signed a nine-figure extension. That said a lot. But Kerr putting Poole on the ball and going to a pick-and-roll system with Curry out of the lineup said just as much Sunday.

Freed from the burden (and to him, it’s a burden) of the Warriors’ hybrid Triangle offense, Poole was marvelous. He remained on the offensive the entire game. His instinct is to be aggressive — Sunday, because Kerr trusted him, he was able to fully trust those instincts.

Drive-and-stop, drive-and-kick, drive-and-score. Poole kept going at the basket on Sunday, and even the NBA’s longest team, the Raptors, couldn’t stop him.

And when Toronto gave him space to pull up and shoot, he took that, too.

Poole was in a flow state and the Warriors flowed around him. JaMychal Green — a spot-up shooter — was a natural fit for the simplified Warriors attack. Kevon Looney and Draymond Green took advantage of the direct game and openness on the perimeter and scored 28 points combined. (Green took six 3-pointers!)

The Warriors used an off-guard in the way most teams used an off-guard Sunday — to cover defensively for their point guard. Donte DiVincenzo is perfect for that role.

The new system wasn’t great for Klay Thompson or Jonathan Kuminga. Those guys require off-ball screens to get open — they’re not dribblers and they don’t set up in the corner.

But still, the good outweighed the bad by a wide margin. This is the way the Warriors need to play with Curry sidelined.

Now, can that offense win a title? No. It’s too direct, too brutish for the NBA playoffs. Good defensive teams know exactly how to stop it in the big moments — you sell out against the point guard and dare a lesser player to beat you.

There’s a reason the Dubs only bust out the high pick-and-roll with Curry on rare, typically late-game occasions.

But the Warriors don’t need to win a title right now. They just need to stay in the hunt for one by winning as many as they lose. And for regular-season basketball, this offense has a chance to be highly effective. It is how roughly 25 of the league’s other 30 teams get their offense every night, after all.

But for it to work for the Warriors on a nightly basis, they need Poole to maintain Sunday’s level of aggression.

Here’s the number to watch: free throw attempts.

If Poole is shooting as many free throws as 3-pointers, the Warriors will be in great shape. That tells us that he’s attacking the hoop.

If not shooting free throws but is still chucking from distance, he’s not going rack enough — not breaking down the connective tissue of a defense — and the Warriors’ offense is going to lack the necessary collective energy to win games. This was not a team built to stand around while one guy dribbles on the perimeter.

The young man carries himself like an All-Star. He will soon be paid like an All-Star. And for the next few weeks, the Warriors are asking him to play like an All-Star.

If he can do that, the Warriors can continue to remain close to a true playoff spot (top-six seed). As of Monday, they are half a game out of the play-in tournament spots but only five games back of first place in the West.

If he can’t, the Warriors might be overtaken by the Lakers in the next week and the Thunder not long after. That might be a hole too deep for Curry, leaving the Dubs in the play-in tournament — miles away from the NBA Finals.

The Warriors are Poole’s team for the next few weeks. The future is now and the pressure is on.