Charles Barkley takes Lakers coach JJ Redick’s | College News

Lakers coach JJ Redick went on a bit of a tangent final month about how an overly crucial media could be partly accountable for a decline in NBA rankings this season.

Charles Barkley, a basketball Hall of Famer and longtime analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show, apparently took Redick’s phrases personally and delivered a rant of his own two weeks later.

As Barkley and company had been displaying the highlights from the Boston Celtics’ 118-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night time, host Ernie Johnson commented on the high quantity of three-point pictures (96) tried during the sport.

Barkley sarcastically commented that it was his fault and that “I heard JJ Redick said something about me.”

Johnson took the bait and requested, “Did he name you specifically or was he just talking about folks on TV?”

Barkley took over from there, talking about Redick because the Celtics-Timberwolves highlights continued to run.

“He said something about we’re the reason people ain’t watch this crappy product we got,” Barkley mentioned. “Yeah, us, like we out there jacking up 100 threes a night. JJ, JJ, you come for the king, you better not miss. ‘Cause I can get you, brother, ‘cause I got your — remember, I got your Lakers games.”

Barkley stored going about Redick and the Lakers (19-14), mentioning the 2 males who preceded Redick because the group’s head coach.

“You can’t hide them flaws they got. You just a dead man walking,” Barkley mentioned. “They got rid of Frank Vogel, who did a good job. They got rid of Darvin Ham, who did a good job. You came out there thinking you were gonna change things with that same ugly girl you went on the date with.”

At this level, Johnson resumed describing the highlights being proven onscreen, however Barkley wasn’t deterred and stored speaking over him, a lot to the amusement of fellow analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.

“He came in there thinking, ‘I can make this thing work.’ Hell you can. Put some makeup on that pig. The Lakers stink, man. Come on man,” Barkley mentioned. “We’re the reason ratings are down. We the reason, like we playing. … Hey, listen, if me and Shaq played, the ratings would be down. But in fairness, if me and Shaq played, we’d be like the third or fourth best players on that Laker team right now. ‘Chuck, get in the game! Shaq, get in the game!’ Damn bombs out there. But it’s Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham’s fault.”

Johnson lastly requested, “How did we go there from Minnesota and Boston?”

Barkley responded: “ ‘Cause all these people jacking up 100 threes saying we’re the reason ratings are down. Thirty seconds to another three-point shooting contest!”

The Celtics lead the league this season with 50.6 three-pointers tried per sport, whereas the Timberwolves are sixth with 40 per sport.

Sports Media Watch reported in mid-December that an average of 1.4 million viewers had been watching NBA video games on ABC, ESPN and TNT this season, down 19% from final 12 months. Barkley and the “Inside the NBA” crew are amongst those that have criticized the league’s gamers for the quantity of pictures being tried from three-point vary.

Redick, who labored for ESPN as an NBA analyst from 2021 till he was employed by the Lakers in June, was requested in regards to the dip in rankings whereas addressing reporters forward of L.A.’s sport towards the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 19. Redick provided a quantity of doable explanations earlier than turning his give attention to the media.

“I don’t think that we — and by we, I was part of it, we as sort of the national partners — have done a good job of storytelling, of celebrating the game,” Redick mentioned. “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product. And that’s really what has happened over the past 10 to 15 years. I don’t know why. It’s not funny to me.”

He added: “The league is more talented and skilled than it was 18 years ago when I was drafted. That’s a fact. There are more players that are excellent. There are more teams that are excellent. … We don’t have anybody that’s willing to step up to the fact that this is an awesome game and we should talk about it and celebrate it in a positive way. That doesn’t mean we don’t critique it. We should critique it. But we should celebrate it. Nobody’s doing that.”

The NBA has acquired some constructive rankings in latest weeks. Nielsen reviews that the league’s five-game Christmas Day slate averaged 5.25 million viewers, up 84% from final 12 months. The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors that night averaged 7.91 million viewers and peaked with about 8.45 million viewers.

With the NBA leaving TNT after this season, “Inside the NBA” will transfer to ESPN however proceed to be produced by TNT.