Charles Barkley hasn’t been afraid to call it as he sees it when it comes to, well, anything. He’s a straight shooter. And the TNT Sports personality, known for his outspokenness, has let it rip when it comes to Team USA basketball and head coach Steve Kerr.
While his candidness has a loyal following, not everyone agrees with Barkley’s assessments. Recent criticisms aimed at Joel Embiid stirred controversy, but Barkley’s most explosive comments targeted Kerr during a Friday morning appearance on ESPN Radio.
“They shouldn’t be tested,” Barkley says. “They should win. They got the best team. They haven’t used their depth the right way. Because the one advantage we had in ’92 — and they still have today – is when they go to the bench, they’re bringing in better players.”
“He has not used this team properly,” Barkley continued regarding Kerr. “It should never be a debate on guys getting to play or not getting to play. Listen, putting Jayson Tatum in an NBA game, he’s gonna be better than 99% of the guys already in the world, but especially guys coming from a foreign country. You just kind of keep your guys on a treadmill and keep them rolling around.”
On Friday’s First Take , ESPN’s Brian Windhorst weighed in on Barkley’s remarks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0vT5qKdQY
“What he said about the ‘USA should win, and the USA has better depth,’ those are true statements,” said the ESPN NBA insider. “But I just don’t agree with Charles when he says it’s not fair to expect them to be tested. Absolutely, you should expect them to be tested. One of the big storylines that’s been happening in Paris for a few weeks, is Joel Embiid has been getting booed just about everywhere he goes in Paris. Why? Why is he getting booed? He’s getting booed because the French and the Americans both went after him, and he chose the U.S.
“Why did the U.S. need him? Why was it so important that the U.S. needed him? Because our margin for error is razor-thin now. We’re now chasing naturalized citizens because we need the talent because the talent in the world is comparable — and the wolf is at the door. They’ve got 10 players averaging between 16 and 22 minutes. He’s using the depth. Not only that, it’s been the five-man swap outs with the second unit that have been the difference. In the first couple of games in the Olympics, it was the second unit that won the game…I just don’t think Charles is on the right page here.
“And I’ll also say this: when the U.S. won the game yesterday, and they made that run, they did it because they were playing international, FIBA-level basketball…That was not an NBA game. So many times when USA basketball’s gotten under pressure, they fall back to the NBA game. And sometimes it bails them out, and sometimes it doesn’t. They played FIBA basketball, and that’s what Steve Kerr’s been training them for for the last month. They responded to the game plan and the training, and they delivered…
“And as far as playing 12 guys, what league in the world does playing 12 guys work? What league? Demonstrate to me. You don’t play 12 guys in high school. You don’t play 12 guys anywhere. And in a 40-minute game, show me a league where 12 guys work? The only time it works is when you’re 40 points better than the opponent with the ‘Dream Team’ was in 1992. There is no team that’s 40 points better anymore. It’s not a character flaw; it’s just reality.”
We saw a side of Windhorst there that we aren’t quite used to seeing, but he saved the more colorful language for Kendrick Perkins. Perkins has traded barbs with Barkley, claiming that he and Shaquille O’Neal don’t actually watch the games. When Shaq and Barkley eventually responded , Perkins didn’t appreciate being called a “roach” by Sir Charles.
However, this time around, he took a more respectful approach to Barkley, showing his admiration for him before going in on his “asinine” comments.
“Look, Charles Barkley is one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game of basketball,” Perkins said. “One of the greatest players to ever touch the damn basketball. And look, one of the greatest TV personalities ever. But this was just an asinine way of talking about Team USA and what’s been going on, as far as them representing our country. Look, this team has been balling. And they’re gonna get battle-tested. The game has become global. You got Europeans, they’re starting to catch — they have caught up with us.
“When you think about who Team USA had to battle against yesterday, (Nikola) Jokić is the best player in basketball. They had to find a way to grind it out. They earned that win. That was the best game that I’ve seen in basketball in the last six or seven years, to be honest with you. The physicality was there. You had to get the best out of O.G.s…
“Again, Windy told me this about a couple of weeks ago when I started criticizing Steve Kerr for not playing Jayson Tatum — it’s fit over star. At this point, Steve Kerr, Ty Lue, Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the coaching staff has done an outstanding job with Team USA and the rotations. The bench has been phenomenal, outside of yesterday’s game. And so, when you think about what Steve Kerr and those guys have to battle, it’s not about the name of the back of the jersey; it’s the name on the front of the jersey. And now, we, as our country is one win away from getting the gold medal.
“See, Steve Kerr is doing his damn thing right now.”
[ First Take ]
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