One of the best parts about Charles Barkley is that he’s not out to just talk trash for grandstanding purposes. He means what he says and will tell it to your face, even if you’re an NBA All-Star.
Prior to the start of Thursday night’s LA Clippers-Golden State Warriors game, Barkley said on TNT’s pregame show that he thought the Warriors would be a 7th or 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He was toying with the idea of saying they would miss the playoffs entirely, but was not willing to go that far.
Well, after watching the Warriors play in the first half against the Clippers, Barkley changed his opinion. Chuck told Klay Thompson, who is recovering from a torn ACL, that the Warriors’ window is shut. Barkley also said the Warriors wouldn’t make the playoffs.
Charles Barkley straight up tells Klay Thompson to his face that the Warriors championship window is "shut" and that the Warriors won't make the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/k6D6VAfFny
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 25, 2019
Thompson said Barkley had the right to be pessimistic, but the Warriors guard expressed confidence in the team’s young players.
“I think it’s exciting. I think we’ve got enough guys to get us there at least,” Thompson said.
Steve Kerr said this week that he was not expecting to have Thompson back this season. So if Golden State does make the playoffs, it might be playing the entire year without Thompson. The real challenge is that the West is so stacked with talent, it will be hard to beat out all the competition.
