Barkley made it pretty clear he was watching college basketball tonight, not the games his own station was carrying.
charles may be for entertainment purposes only but that doesn't mean he's excused for taking every opportunity he has to slam the rockets. it's a clear grudge he has.
Its clear that we will have to earn the TNT halftime crew's respect in the playoffs. Hopefully after we have destroyed the Sonics, we can take care of the Suns and shut Charles up.
If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, this is his argument: (1) Yao and McGrady have not exactly proven themselves to be mentally tough. Yao doesn't always adjust well to foul trouble, doesn't finish with authority, and lets himself get pushed around a bit too easily (though less often now). McGrady quit in Orlando. Personally, I don't blame him. But I understand why many do. (2) The team completely lacks a 4 that can play defense. Yao is a good shot blocker, but there's no doubt he needs protection. He has none. (3) The team lacks a defensive stopper. Wesley works hard and is positionally sound ,but has slowed with age. Sura is nice, but isn't precisely a Bruce Bwen type. McGrady is very talented, but sometimes lacks effort on defense. There's your argument. It's not completely implausible. It ignores the mental toughness of the team...but hell, Charles is on that show to cause controversy.
Yeah, he can say all these things about a lot of other teams as well. Anyway, I do agree that his job is to cause controversy. So what's more fun to diss a team u hate when you get a chance.
All I know is, Barkley has eaten his words many times so I don't really care what he says. Rockets are on their way up, hopefully this year, maybe next year, but I know with Yao and Mcgrady, the Rockets are on the right track. They may not be considered tough guys, but they are unselfish team players, something that is lacking in this league.
i give charles the credibility of a homeless man asking for money to buy crack, his opinion doesnt mean nada guys
I totally disagree. Charles Barkely was still great when he was a Rocket. It was a joy to watch him play, one reason being that he knew all the tricks at that point and was a really intelligent ball player. I think he was the best player for the Rockets in the '99 playoffs against the Fakers; he was showing up to play moreso than anyone else. I don't see how you can disrespect him like that. I believe you are pissed because of the trade for him. I think that's the Rockets third best trade ever (behind Clyde and T-Mac). The Rockets could have been so much better if he wasn't as injured as much as he was when he played for us. I don't like this disrespect aimed towards him. Regarding the quote, that annoys me. I've always viewed him as a really nice guy to the fans, a hilarious person at times, and cool because he told it like it was. You know what I think of his Rockets days, so this quote is a really d*** thing for him to say.
I'm a Barkley fan but seriously he can kiss my @ss. With all the Rockets have done with the personnel turnover for him to still diss a team that has only been together for a few months if ridiculous. And I hope people don't resort to taking personal shots at Barkley or saying he was overrated, or a loser, or that he was washed up when he came here, etc., etc., because that's just going down the same path we're accusing Barkley of doing.
This doesn't surprise me at all. The Chuckstar is becomming pretty predictable. Basically, he's not going to respect anybody that isn't either a championship winning team and/or one of the best or the best defensive teams in the league. You ask yourself, "We are one of the best defensive teams in the league, why does he still rip on us?" I think it's because T-Mac and Yao are unproven in the postseason. Sure, they are both superstars but let's face the facts: neither have been past the 1st round in the playoffs. Combine that with Yao's reputation for not having the killer instinct we all would like him to have, I guess the Chuckster derived this idea that we're "softer than has fat stomach."
Believe me the issue for Chuck is simple: Steve + Yao As long as Yao is a Rocket Chuck will dish us - 1. He feels Yao is the most over hyped player in the league. 2. He hates it that Yao has started the all star game over the likes of Shaq and Amare. 3. He embarassed himself by going overboard from the being saying Yao would be a flop. 4. He favors the athletic power player in the post and every mistake Yao makes just gives Chuck pleasure and he really only sees an awkward Chinese player who can't carry Shaq's jock. 5. He thinks Yao is soft so the Rockets are soft. Now about Steve- this started his disdain for the Rockets. 1. After Charles played with Steve here he remarked often as an analyst how the younger players do not listen to the veteran players (steve) 2. He alften talked about some young players who don't respect the game and the older guys like himself, Michael, Magic, etc. 3. He often talked about how the young players come in with their headphones on to meetings and go out and play street ball. I don't think he had much respect for Steve F. and hated playing with a guy who iso'd and dribbled so much and show boated and then made stupid mistakes on the court. He loves to praise Lebron and I think that shows that somewhere Lebron gave him some respect and that is big to Charles. My opinion is that Steve didn't "respect" him and Charles put his loser tag on the Rockets. Expect the Rockets to have to cram respect down Charles's throat because he doesn't like the team for those reasons.
Great analysis, rhester. I didn't think of it, but all those are spot-on. I can't wait to hear what he says after the Rockets go deep this year.
First of all, you have to admit we are a TINY bit on the soft side. We need some meaness out there and that usually comes from the PF position. But maybe next year.... As for CB, come on guys. The man got his heart busted up TWICE by the Rockets. He use to think that he was better than MJ. He was wrong. He use to think he was the best player when MJ left. He was DEFINITELY WRONG. And he thought he was the best player when MJ came back. I don't need to answer that. Obviously he came here after getting beat up by Hakeem and it was a little too late. He clearly has issues with the Rockets. I like him. But I understand that years of mental torture from the same source takes his toll.
He might also be pissed that his bf (MJ) got less votes than Yao in the ASG. The only thing Barkley has left in this life is mouth. He loves stirring people up, you all should have seen him on crossfire where he was trying talk politics. Everything was "the whiteman this and the white man that". It was funny, but you cannot take this dude serious.
I think it's brilliant, because you know it will get back to the locker room. In the end, if the Rockets win it Charles will take all the credit.
It's not like the Rockets are the only team Charles dislikes. He pretty much hates every team in the NBA but the Spurs. Every year he'll pick 1 team to root for and every other team sucks. Last year it was the Lakers. There's no middle ground with Charles. You're either the best team in the NBA or you suck.
thacabbage is right. Chuck usually tells the truth, but he's dead wrong on the Rockets this year. I think that he has always doubted Yao's ability, even before he played a single NBA game. Remember how he had to eat his words about Yao being a disappointing rookie? I think he had to kiss a donkey's ass in front of Kenny Smith. Anyway, he has always thought of Yao as soft, and now that Yao has been playing inconsistant, he is really giving it to the Rockets. I don't see the rest of our guys as being soft. Wesley is very physical, as are Sura and Barry. I used to think Howard was soft, but he's not playing soft this year. Obvioulsy Motumbo is anything but soft. So, Chuck is really talking about Yao, and to a smaller extent, T-Mac. The rest of the team has it together, and those two play their best ball under pressure. I'm not worried. In fact, Chuck's comment will only serve to motivate our boys. I'm pretty sure that no one wants to face Houston in the playoffs.
Barkley just found out SI's article about Yao's restaurant and was angry that Yao hadn't treated him. He became so hungry that his stomach took over his mind and started talking non-sense. We should know it when we heard "his stomach" and "Houston" in the same sentence.
