Will the Warriors be able to contend in the Western Conference after losing Kevin Durant in the offseason and Klay Thompson to injury? Charles Barkley changed his mind on Thursday night after watching the first half of the Clippers-Warriors game in San Francisco, and he told Klay Thompson that his team isn’t good enough in a brutally honest halftime segment.
In the pre-game discussion on TNT, Barkley said that he wanted to predict that the Warriors wouldn’t make the playoffs, but said that he’d pick Golden State to be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed out of respect for the organization. After watching the Warriors’ first half of the season, however, Barkley had lost all hope in the Warriors.
The TNT crew welcomed Klay Thompson to the set for a halftime interview, and Barkley bluntly told Thompson that the Warriors wouldn’t make the playoffs, and that the team wouldn’t receive the same fan support after moving away from Oakland to a new arena.
Klay Thompson: “Our window to win another championship, I think, is open for the next five, six years.”
Charles Barkley: “Well, number one, I hope you get back soon, but you’re just wrong.
…. I was wrong before the game. I said they were going to be the 7-8 seed. They’re not going to make the playoffs because they just can’t score enough.”
Barkley’s colleagues Kenny Smith and Candace Parker tried to stick up for the Warriors, noting that they had only played one half in the season, but Barkley wouldn’t be persuaded. Smith argued before the game that the Warriors could be a 4 or 5 seed by the end of the year.
Barkley: “When you look at your team, you say ‘OK, Steph can get me 30. D’Angelo [Russell] can get me 20. Draymond, even though he’s a heck of a player, he’s only going to get me 15.’ That’s not enough in the Western Conference. This year.”
Thompson handled the situation with class, and said he believes the Warriors’ young players will deliver.
Thompson: “Chuck has the right to be a little pessimistic, but I think, I think these young guys are going to step up.”
