The Warriors’ grand opening of their new arena was spoiled by a 19-point loss to the Clippers. Charles Barkley thinks they should get used to it.
It was a discouraging start to the season for a team that lost Kevin Durant (free agency) and Klay Thompson (torn ACL), but is coming off five straight trips to the NBA Finals.
Thompson joined TNT’s broadcasting team, which was on site at the Chase Center, to discuss Golden State’s chances this season. Thompson said he did not want to rush back with his injury because he thinks the Warriors’ window for a championship will be open for “another five, six years.”
Barkley was having none of Thompson’s optimism.
“I want to make my other prediction tonight, I was wrong before the game,” Barkley said after the Clippers’ 141-122 victory. “I said they were going to be a seventh or eighth seed, but they’re not going to make the playoffs, because they just can’t score enough.”
The bold prediction from Barkley made for a slightly awkward moment on the panel. Thompson handled it well and offered his insight into the team’s chemistry.
“Chuck has the right to be a little pessimistic,” Thompson said with a smirk. “But I think these young guys are going to step up. I think it’s exciting, man. I think we got enough guys to get us there at least.”
Thompson, who suffered the injury during the NBA Finals last season, is uncertain to return this season. The Warriors helped to offset the loss of scoring options by acquiring D’Angelo Russell from the Nets as part of the sign-and-trade that got Durant to Brooklyn.
The Warriors also lost veterans Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala this offseason and have nine players who are 23 years old or younger.
The first results were not pretty as the Clippers shot 62.5% from the field and shot 18-for-32 from 3-point range on Thursday.
“This is not a one-off, this is the reality,” coach Steve Kerr said. “There’s going to be nights like this this year. You’ve got to play through it, you’ve got to keep fighting and keep getting better. That’s the plan.”
Source: Read Full Article