Sports

Green, Barkley trade jabs over Warriors being ‘cooked’

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has never been one to back down from a challenge – whether it’s on the court or off it.

On Sunday night’s TNT coverage of the NBA All-Star Game, Green joined the broadcast as a guest and quickly became involved in a fierce back-and-forth with analyst Charles Barkley.

In discussing the wide-open playoff race in the Western Conference, Barkley told Green that his Warriors were ‘cooked’ and not a serious title contender.

‘That’s crazy,’ Green countered as the game continued. ‘You said that last year, but we all know you don’t know what you’re talking about.’

ALL-STAR TAKEAWAYS: Dunk Contest’s future, favorites for the Finals, more

Follow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules

NUGGETS COACH UNIMPRESSED: ‘Worst basketball game ever played,’ Malone says

For the record, the Warriors did win the NBA title last season, defeating the Boston Celtics in six games in the Finals.

Still, Sir Charles persisted: ‘Y’all are done.’

To Barkley’s point, Golden State’s path to a championship does seem a bit more challenging this season. 

Star guard Steph Curry expects to miss a few more games after the All-Star break with a leg injury, and the Warriors’ 29-29 record is currently the ninth-best in the Western Conference, putting them in line to be part of the play-in round before the official postseason begins. 

But with Curry back at full strength – and Green armed with some extra motivation – experts such as Barkley run the risk of looking foolish by counting the Warriors out this soon.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY