Even after a 2-9 shooting night in a 28-point loss, Jason Terry is still running his clapper. Check out what he had to say about Matt Barnes earlier today on ESPN’s Colin Cowherd’s radio program…
“I don’t think he’s a tough guy. You know, some guys put on that Lakers uniform… Barnes, I remember you at Phoenix and Golden State, you’re a journeyman, but all of a sudden you put on this Laker uniform and you turn into… Jerry West, and Kareem, and Worthy, and Magic… those are the real Lakers, not Barnes.
I mean come on, again, I remember you from Golden State and Phoenix and the other sports. Now Barnes is a good player, don’t get me wrong, he does a great job in his role, and he’s trying to assume a tough guy role for them, but Ron Artest is that guy for them, and he’s the reason they won that championship last year, not Matt Barnes.”
He also broke out one of the lamest insults in league history, calling Barnes the “Charminator”, meaning that he’s “as soft as Charmin toilet paper.” C’mon son… step your trash talkin’ game up. Tell Gary Payton you’ll compensate him for some training or something.
Anyway, first of all, I nearly cried laughing at that “I saw him in Golden State” bit. Damn right you saw him in Golden State… but why in the hell would you ever want to bring that up, JET? I mean, yeah, you saw him in Golden State… you saw him and his Warriors not only beat you, but embarrass you in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Barnes wasn’t just sitting on the bench, either. Without Matt Barnes the Warriors don’t win that series. His defense, toughness, three-point shooting, and 11/6 averages were all major reasons why GSW took that series decisively in six games, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NBA playoffs.
Secondly, I’m not buying Matt Barnes being a fake tough guy. I’ve watched a lot of Matt Barnes over the years, and I’ve never seen him back down from a confrontation with anyone. He’s a bit of a knucklehead at times, but a fake tough guy? Nah… that’s you, Jason. Matt Barnes is one of the scrappiest, toughest defenders in the league. He hits the offensive and defensive boards hard for a player his size, and he simply takes no sh!t from anyone. What the hell do you do, Jason? You’re a good player, but you’ve never done a damn thing to indicate toughness. You’re a jumpshooter. Yeah you dunk on a guy from time to time, but you always have to knee or kick the defender in the nads to get it done. The tougher basketball player of the two is Matt Barnes, no doubt.
Also, Terry’s talking about Matt Barnes being a role player… well what exactly are you, Jason? Yeah, you’re an upper-echelon, sixth-man-award type of role player, but you’re still a role player. A 16 PPG career average is very nice, and you’re a better player than Matt Barnes… but you’re still a role player. You have zero career All-Star appearances. You’ve never been the best player on a team that’s worth a damn. You provide a great scoring punch off of a good team’s bench. That’s a role, and you play it well… making you a role player. There’s nothing wrong with that, Jason… just don’t be using a term that suits you to describe another man in a negative way. That’s called being hypocritical.
Lastly, about Barnes being a journeyman… now I just find this hilarious: Barnes had played for five teams in his first six NBA seasons. He saw inconsistent minutes, had spent time in the D-League, and had been unable to carve out his niche in the real league. He was good enough to hang around on a roster, but hadn’t proven himself worthy of much more than the spot minutes he was being given at the time. He actually considered giving up on the NBA and trying to play in the NFL between the ’05/06 and ’06/07 seasons, but he latched on with the Warriors and had a career season. It was that postseason that he helped to eliminate Jason Terry’s Mavs, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 boards in the final contest. He really put his stamp on the memorable upset, and the NBA took notice. Barnes has played 23 minutes per game since then, many of those minutes for a couple of teams with legitimate championship aspirations, and as a free agent has had various teams contend for his services. So yeah, he’s played for three teams (in addition to another year with Golden State) since the series against Terry’s Mavs, but it’s been by choice. He had a two-year deal with his ’09/10 squad (Orlando), but opted out to sign in LA. Barnes was a journeyman… but he worked his way up the ladder and took his biggest step towards becoming the coveted role player he is today against Terry’s Mavericks. Ironic, isn’t it? I think someone’s mad…ehem…JASON TERRY!…ugh. I appologize; my cinnamon graham cracker must’ve gone down the wrong way.
