With the Oklahoma City Thunder up 2-0 on the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, things are looking good for Kevin Durant and company. However, one surprise is that Charles Barkley has come out and said that he believes that Dallas can't beat the Thunder.
This is a shock to me because Barkley has never had anything good to say about the Thunder and has often made the proclamation that the Thunder are not built to win an NBA title. Now, he never said they were going to win the entire thing, but just hearing him talk positive about Oklahoma City is strange.
However, listen to him closely and you will see he is not praising the Thunder but blasting the Mavericks. He once again said that the Thunder will fall deep in the playoffs because of the jump shots that players like Kevin Durant and James Harden makes. He must overlook the fact that Russell Westbrook takes it to the basket all the time, but then again, he says that Westbrook takes too many shots.
And don't forget that he wants James Harden in the starting lineup, giving Oklahoma City too many shooters and removing the best defensive player on the floor in Thabo Sefolosha.
His reasoning is that Dallas can't beat Oklahoma City four times in this series. He attributes the loss of DeShawn Stephenson and Tyson Chandler as to why the Mavericks don't have the power to overcome the Thunder, despite Oklahoma City's deficiencies.
It is observations like this that apparently helped Barkley win the Sports Emmy as best studio analyst. He beat out Cris Collinsworth, Jay Blias, Jeff Hammond and Kirk Herbstreit. I guess all you need to win that Emmy is a knack for speaking your opinion, even if it is unfounded and simply based on personal preference instead of logical facts.
That and a big mouth.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NewsOK.com
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