In the past couple of seasons, Charles Barkley has not been on the Golden State bandwagon. He’s often said they can’t rebound, defend at the rim, and that their small ball is easy to take advantage of. Last year it seemed more evident than in previous years where the Warriors were killed on the boards in the playoffs and simply just worn out.
Even with the acquisition of Kevin Durant, Charles Barkley still isn’t riding this bandwagon. It’s easy to see that he’s not a fan of this team or their style of play but his views on the Warriors seems to be more understanding this year than before. Barkley weighed in on his views on the new-look Golden State Warriors (via From Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press):
“Let me say this: I still think they got some of the same issues this year with that team,” Barkley said Tuesday.
“Can they rebound the ball? They’re going to still be shooting jumpers. They’re not going to get any low-post scoring. Can that type of play hold up through the rigors of the NBA playoffs? I’m still going to say the same thing I’ve always said: No.”
It’s easy to take Charles Barkley’s comments as hate when referring to the Warriors at times but I believe he has a point this time around. Golden State lost three of their biggest defenders and rebounders in the paint in Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, and Marreese Speights. The lack of depth and size in the paint will definitely play a factor in how good they will do this year but will it stop them from winning a championship?
I don’t believe so. They’ve gotten such a stud in Kevin Durant that I feel like they’re an automatic write-in to make it to the NBA Finals. Shooting jump-shots and lacking post scorers has not hurt them in the past two seasons. Stephen Curry knows how to get the basket and with Kevin Durant on the team, they have another threat to get the basket and score the ball. Offensively, their options are so unlimited that’s its tough to write them off.
However, defense does scare me with this team. I’m not sure if Zaza Pachulia and Javale McGee is enough. I believe they have a suffiecient amount of offense and a solid enough defense that they can get the deed done. They will outscore teams just off the strength of their offense and superstars alone. What it will come down to is getting enough stops to put themselves ahead by a decent margin.
