It wasn’t just that the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks by 25 points Wednesday night (and it wasn’t even that close), it’s that the Cavs continued to shoot (and make) from beyond the arc late in the fourth quarter. The result was an NBA-record 25 threes. Suddenly, the red-hot Cavs, who still haven’t lost a playoff game this year, look like serious title contenders after a dysfunctional regular season.
However, it was what happened after the game that ended up causing an even bigger stir — and it didn’t even come from the Cavs or the Hawks. Instead, it was Charles Barkley who went too far by suggesting the Hawks needed to “take somebody out” on TNT’s post-game coverage:
“The Atlanta Hawks got to take somebody out.” – Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/hz3gXL434k
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 5, 2016
Shaq was the first one to tell Barkley his comments were unnecessary, but it was Charles Oakley who took things to an entirely new level on Twitter:
Charles Barkley ,you better stop talking s*** about Cleveland you was never tough you hide behind TNT
— Charles Oakley (@CharlesOakley34) May 5, 2016
Oakley’s a Cleveland native, so it’s no wonder he took offense to Barkley saying 1) the Cavs didn’t need to shoot threes late in the game (it is, after all, Atlanta’s job to stop it) and 2) that they should be physically punished for it. There’s also some history between Barkley and Oakley to consider, too. The two got into a fight — in a preseason game, no less — 20 years ago when Barkley was with the Rockets and Oakley was with the Knicks:
Oakley has a reputation as one of the toughest guys to play in the league. Barkley has a reputation for having zero filter on television. It was probably only a matter of time before their paths crossed again, even if it’s on the Internet.
