When someone noteworthy in the NBA says something "controversial" about someone else, it feeds the 24-hour news cycle. That's just the way it works.
The latest example came Wednesday, when Warriors coach Steve Kerr took a playful shot at the Houston Rockets on "The TK Show" podcast with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami.
"We're not reinventing the wheel," Kerr said. " We're still gonna be the Warriors. We're not gonna all of a sudden turn into the Rockets -- change our offense -- and have one guy go high pick-and-roll 70 times a game."
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So naturally, former Warriors forwards Richard Jefferson and Matt Barnes offered their thoughts on Kerr's comment on Thursday's edition of ESPN's "The Jump."
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Jefferson: "They had one of the greatest stretches in NBA history. So, he's allowed [to say that], just like Phil Jackson used to do to throw little digs at people they have taken down multiple times over and over again."
Golden State Warriors
Barnes: "I see nothing wrong with it. The Warriors have their recipe for success. As much as I love James Harden -- as great as a player he is -- that type of basketball will not win a championship. So I think he was just stating the obvious by taking a little jab but also letting everyone know the Warriors are going to be fine next year."
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Correct and correct.
The Warriors knocked the Rockets out of the playoffs four times over a five-year span from 2015 to 2019, and there is no love lost between the two franchises.
Yours truly wouldn't mind seeing them face off again in the 2021 playoffs.