NBA legend Charles Barkley has expressed dissatisfaction with the NBA over the "unfair" scheduling attributed to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets lost Game 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the ongoing round 2 playoff series, and Barkley believes they were hard done by the fact that they had to return to the court after just 40 hours following their overtime win in Game 3. Following Sunday's game at the Ball Arena, the contest is all tied at 2-2.
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Charles Barkley Puts NBA Under Spotlight
Charles Barkley countered the notion that the Thunder also faced the same adversity by stating that the OCT have more depth on the side, giving them the luxury to rest primary starters while putting trust in the bench. The excess activity has left Nuggets' star center Nikola Jokic tired, and since Denver is overtly dependent on the Joker, an underwhelming performance from him puts the entire team under the pump, giving Barkley the reason to hold the NBA accountable for the scheduling they have prepared.
“I thought what the NBA did [to the Nuggets] was unfair,” Barkley said. “Making them play late Friday night, then an early afternoon, I thought that was unfair. I truly believe that.
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Thunder Have the Luxury of Rotation
Smith interjected, stating that the Thunder had to face the same adversity.
“[The Thunder] have more depth. … I don’t think it’s fair to blame everything on the Joker. He has not played well, and I think he’s wearing down.”
Famed analyst Stephen A. Smith, who was sitting beside Charles when he made the opinion, highlighted that Oklahoma City cannot be blamed for having a deeper rotation. Nine different OKC players played at least 13 minutes in Game 4. On the other hand, Denver relied heavily on a six-man rotation with Russell Westbrook playing big minutes off the bench. On Sunday, the Thunder’s bench outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 35-8.