Charles Barkley saying something opinionated and colorful isn’t news. The L.A. Clippers getting ripped apart publicly isn’t a new occurrence either. Still this is pretty funny; and pretty harsh. Even by Chuckles’ standards.
Charles Barkley said last night on the NBA on TNT, while discussing the Clips’ lack of toughness:
“The Clippers are softer than tissue paper. They’ve got the toughness of a flea and the toughest guy on their team is 5’7” [Chris Paul]. They are soft and they’re only going to go as far as Blake [Griffin] and DeAndre [Jordan] take them.”
Wow. Ouch! And way to thrown in a shot at the height of Chris Paul. Quite an exaggeration.
But this is why we love Charles Barkley. In the sports media world, vanilla reigns. And Charles Barkley is the exception; consistently giving up soundbites that spice things up. It was thought that 2013-14 would finally be the year that the Clippers rule Los Angeles; that they would pass up the Lakers on the court, and in the hearts and minds of Angelinos.
It’s very early right now, and it’s a very long season, but if the playoffs started today the Lake Show would get the final NBA playoff spot. The Clippers would be just outside looking in.
By the way, the Clippers lost to the defending champion Miami Heat 102-97. Fellow NBA on TNT analyst Greg Anthony had a more measured response to the Clippers’ loss. His words weren’t as harsh as those of Charles Barkley.
“It’s going to be a season-long process for them to figure things out. They still haven’t developed any type of defensive identity. They don’t seem to be in the right spots all the time.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the world; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS