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Golden State Warriors star forward Draymond Green jokingly fired back at “Inside the NBA” co-host Charles Barkley’s recent criticism of the Warriors.
During an episode of “The Steam Room,” Green was asked by Barkley's co-host, Ernie Johnson Jr., what he thought about Barkley’s comments about Golden State. The NBA legend referred to the team as “old” and “cooked” on opening night. He also said that they were the “fourth-best team in California.”
Before letting Green answer, Barkley first took the opportunity to double down on his original take. Barkley spoke about how the Warriors are indeed an aging team, whose core players have a lot of mileage on their bodies. He added that injuries could start to take a toll on the team this season:
“And I meant it. When you play for the championship as many years as they played, it taxes your body,” Barkley said.
“They’ve got an old team. If they have any injuries, they could be the fourth-best team in California, and that’s not a knock.”
Green then didn’t hesitate to draw a comparison between Barkley’s comments and the NBA legend’s final four seasons with the Houston Rockets. Barkley was past his prime for the majority of those four seasons, as the Hall of Famer only made one All-Star appearance with the Rockets:
“You know, I don’t mind that. I think 'old' sounds a little harsh,” Green said.
"'Old' sounds as if we look like Chuck when he was out there with the Houston Rockets. That’s what 'old' kind of sounds like to me.”
Barkley then joked that Green was correct before the Warriors star gave a more serious response. Green agreed with Barkley that Golden State is an aging team.
However, he added that he doesn’t think that age will stop the Warriors from contending for another championship. Green said that the team's championship experience should outweigh their age-related decline as long as they stay healthy:
“Ages are getting up there. You can’t deny that,” Green said.
“In saying that, though, we are experienced. And I think the most important thing to Chuck’s point is us staying healthy. We are definitely getting older, but that ain’t ever stopped us from winning.”
Draymond Green says Warriors’ elite point guard rotation will be one of their biggest advantages this season
Since Draymond Green made his season debut against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Warriors veteran point guard Chris Paul has been coming off the bench. This gives the Warriors an elite playmaker on the court at all times, with superstar Steph Curry in the starting lineup.
According to Green, this luxury will be one of the Warriors’ biggest advantages all season:
“I think that will be an advantage that we’ll have. When you’re talking (about) replacing Steph Curry with Chris Paul, I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Green said.
“I think we’ll have that advantage all year. So, that’s something that will be huge for our team.”
Golden State (4-1) has benefitted from Paul’s presence so far. The team has won four straight games following its opening night loss to the Phoenix Suns.
As Green told Barkley, the key will now be for the Warriors’ aging roster to stay healthy throughout the rest of the season and playoffs.
