Draymond Green and Charles Barkley appear to have buried the hatchet. Green and the Golden State Warriors forced a Game 7 against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night in a game that was close for a while before Klay Thompson took over.
The rivalry between the Rockets and Warriors will now be settled on Monday night, but another budding rivalry this postseason appears to be over. After the game, Green joined TNT’s Inside the NBA show airing live in Houston to talk with the crew — most notably Barkley — who had less than flattering things to say about Green earlier this postseason.
It was Barkley who said he wanted someone to punch Green in the face, and though he apologized later he said he meant it. Green, meanwhile, said that Barkley should do the punching himself, otherwise he should stop talking. The weirdness extended to other interviews, too, such as when Barkley asked how “annoying” Green is when Kevin Durant showed up on set last week.
But on Saturday night, all that tension appeared to be put behind the two NBA stars.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1000589978609500161
“I apologize for saying I wanted to hit you in the mouth,” Barkley said on Saturday. “I was wrong for saying that.”
He explained that everyone tried to make a much bigger deal out of an off-handed comment than it actually warranted.
“I’ve never said anything bad about Draymond,” Barkley said. “I made a sarcastic statement about Draymond at halftime of one of our games and everybody tried taking it to a whole other level.”
Barkley also made sure to note that he thinks Green is a great player, but that it “drive him nuts” when Green can’t admit he’s committed a foul. Green, meanwhile, said no NBA player thinks they ever foul anyone. But he also included some mutual respect.
“Much respect from my end,” Green said.
Barkley is in the business of making good television, and saying controversial things certainly can make for compelling viewing. But as Durant noted when asked about Barkley and Green last week, it’s not always fun and games. Sometimes you have to sit down and talk honestly, just to make sure everyone’s still in on the bit.
