Charles Barkley on state of NBA, Thunder, Kenny Smith and Rockets
TNT’s Charles Barkley joined the show to talk about the NBA Playoffs. Here are some of his remarks …
— On the state of the NBA …. “The NBA is watered down. The NBA is the worst I’ve ever seen it.” Barkley cited the one-and-done rule and players who aren’t ready coming into the League.
— On Dwight Howard … “He’s a heck of a player,” Barkley said. “A lot of people don’t like him. I’ve always found him to be a nice guy.”
Barkley said that a lot of the view on Howard has to do with him not winning.
“There’s always a double-standard depending on whether you win or lose,” Barkley said. “When you lose you have to blame someone.”
— On Steph Curry …. “Steph Curry, other than Michael Jordan, is probably the best offensive player I’ve ever seen. But you realize they hide him on defense.”
— On the Oklahoma City Thunder … “The Thunder have a better team … it’s just are they going to do anything stupid? … Nobody has a better team than Oklahoma City. … They only did something stupid one game. … If they can keep their minds together, they have a really good chance to win an NBA title. “
— On Russell Westbrook … “That’s the only problem with Russell Westbrook … he goes 100 mph every time.”
— On whether TNT cohort Kenny Smith would take Rockets job …. “Nobody says I’m going to take on the Titanic. Other than Dave Joerger.”