The Golden State Warriors became NBA champions once again last year, but for the first time during this dynastic run, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green weren’t absolute keys to their success. Stephen Curry was amazing as always during the postseason, but the ones to step up and support him along the way were primarily Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.
Klay not being quite at his best was understandable as he had been out of action for over two years, and some nagging injuries have certainly taken their toll on Draymond as well. Thompson and Green haven’t had great starts to the new season either, with Klay, in particular, really struggling so far. Head coach Steve Kerr revealed that Thompson is frustrated as he is on a minutes restriction, and those frustrations seemed to boil over on the court, as he got ejected for the first time in his career against the Suns last night.
Charles Barkley Says Klay Thompson And Draymond Green Are Not That Good Anymore
The referees, in a way, put Klay out of his misery as he was having a terrible game, but the whole incident seemed to have affected the rest of the team a lot, as the Suns took them apart after Klay went out. Phoenix ended up winning 134-105, and after the game, Charles Barkley stated that Klay and Draymond just aren’t the same anymore.
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“This team is older, Ernie. That’s what’s really happening to them. They’re older. Go back and look at the Finals, who were the guys that helped them win? It was Wiggins and Poole… it’s going to be up to those young guys, (Jonathan) Kuminga, (Moses) Moody, Poole, and (James) Wiseman.”
“Because I think, as much as I love Klay, he’s slipping. Same thing with Draymond. They’re not the same. In the Finals, you can see they’re not the same guys they were two or three years ago. So when I watch the Warriors play, I say, ‘oh man, Father Time is knocking on the door of a couple of those guys.'”
“These guys have won four championships, that’s like playing two or three extra seasons. They’re past 30, you factor in Klay who’s had two major surgeries. I think you saw tonight he’s like ‘this young boy is kicking my ass, ain’t nothing I can do about it.’ There was a time when Klay Thompson was the best two-way guard in the NBA, and he’s not the same guy and that’s because of injuries. Now, is he done? No, I don’t think he’s done. I think he’s slowing down and it’s catching up with him, that’s why he’s frustrated.”
“I think the same thing with Draymond, I think he’s slowing down, you saw in the Finals. Because his game is really dictated on energy and once you get past 30, you start losing (it) especially if you playing deep in the playoffs every year. That’s why I said Steph got a lot more work to do now, them young guys going really have to step up or this team is not going to win the championship if those young guys don’t start carrying the team.”
Barkley does have a point here. These guys have had injuries, and they’ve also had deep playoff runs, so there is a lot of wear and tear on their bodies. They might still have it in them to rise to the occasion come playoffs, so it is hard to count these two out just yet.
The Warriors do need some of their younger players to step up, though, especially Wiggins and Poole. They were both rewarded with extensions before the season started, and they need to pick up the slack if Thompson and Green fail to get going. Draymond also found himself making the headlines for the wrong reasons, as he was blasted by fans for his cheap shot in the game against the Suns.
