DALLAS – The Warriors built a rivalry over these dynastic years that would go down in NBA history.
On their way to the championship, the Warriors beat LeBron James’s Cavaliers, Chris Paul’s Los Angeles Clippers, and James Harden’s Houston Rockets, to name a few. However, their latest rivalry is a bit more unorthodox.
It evolved from the “inside the NBA” pre and postgame show set and the court outside the Chess Center. Charles Barkley’s feud with Warriors fans has become the NBA’s best rivalry in these playoffs to date. And there are already too many chapters for the rivalry.
An outspoken critic of the Warriors’ style for years, Barkley wasted no time in prodding after the Mavericks defeated the Phoenix in Game 7, setting up a Golden State–Dallas matchup in the Western Conference Finals. Barkley mourned the visit to San Francisco, calling the city “hell”. He also picked the Mavericks – who have won their first playoff series since 2011 – to defeat the Warriors.
“Mavs is going to get better in the short ball because Luka (Donnick), no one can handle that guy face-to-face,” Barkley said on TNT. “If (Jalen) Brunson and (Spencer) Dinwiddie keep playing the way they are playing, this team will be hard to beat.”
Warriors fans objected to Barkley’s comments. After the Warriors’ Game 1 win on Wednesday, fans chanted “Chuck, you sock!” outside the Chase Center behind the “Inside” panel. Chanted. During the live show.
Host Ernie Johnson reminded Barkley that he said he “didn’t like” San Francisco. Barkley doubled down.
“I don’t dislike this area. I hate this area,” he said.
Drummond Green – who frequently appears as a Warriors correspondent “inside the NBA” after signing a contract with TNT this year – was on the panel after the game and responded on behalf of his team’s fans.
“The area hates you,” Green fired back.
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After being named to the NBA’s second team All-Defense Team, Greene was micked and chatted with the “Inside” crew during their warm-up before Game 2 and stuck again for Warriors fans.
“Chuck, you’re not going to our fans,” Green said.
“I’m going to these fans, I promise you,” Barkley said. “They’re going to get all the smoke they want.”
“They got more rings than you, Chuck,” Green replied.
“I know they do, but they have to go back to their lives,” Barkley said. “I have to go home and be Charles Barkley. I’m going to feel great about my life.”
Charles Barkley and Drummond Greene going together is extreme comedy. I
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Green has performed his duties as a representative of the Warriors fan voice. They have also taken jobs of their own. During the off day between Games 1 and 2, Green backtracked on Barkley’s WCF prediction with a detailed rant about why Barkley did not qualify to determine what makes up the championship team.
Green insisted that Barkley – who did not win a championship during his 15-year NBA career – did not want Green to rub the fourth championship ring in his face. This could be a reality for Greene, who is expected to eventually join Barkley on the “Inside the NBA” panel.
“If I win another championship, another ring gets added to the panel that it isn’t,” Green said on the off day between Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals. “I wouldn’t even want to see that, so you really have to hear about it. I get it. I understand. I don’t know how it feels, I always won. I guess I’ll feel the same way.” “
Keep going green.
“You guys keep adding rings and I have to sit here and when the playoffs come, what are you going to say?” Green said. “You gonna tell us how to win? Don’t take that advice from Chuck. What’s he going to say? Tell him I’m going to pick up your mom if you keep talking shit to me because you all win. Okay, Go ahead Chuck. Although it’s my dog, I love Chuck.”
Barkley’s beef with Warriors fans began 15 years ago, when “Inside” panelists relentlessly cast doubt on the eight-seeded Warriors during the “We Believe” run in which they defeated the top-seeded Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs. Was. He pushed back fans’ anger about his comments.
“They’re just crazy. They’re in the Golden State and not LA,” Barkley said then. “The only place worth living in California is Los Angeles.”
Prior to the 2015 playoffs, in which the Warriors won the NBA title with a 16-5 playoff run, Barkley stated that the Warriors’ style of play was not a winning style.
“They’ve had a great season. But I don’t like jump-shooting teams,” he said on TNT then. “I don’t think you can jump enough to win four series in a row. I have been saying for 25 years, not now. I think you physically annoy them on the inside.”
The playoffs are in their final stages, but the latest installment of this rivalry is just heating up.
