Barry believes Warriors have chance to ‘surprise a lot of people’

Barry believes Warriors have chance to ‘surprise a lot of people’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

If anyone knows what a competitive Warriors team looks like, it’s Rick Barry.

Prior to the Warriors’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at Chase Center, the NBA Hall of Fame forward joined the “Warriors Pregame Live” crew and made his case for why there’s no reason to not believe in Steve Kerr’s team – especially after a much-needed turnaround.

“So, since we are talking about this team,” Barry said. People are writing them off… I’m telling you, don’t write this team off. They finally turned things around a little bit, with all the garbage that went on during the course of the early part of the season.

“You know, with Draymond and two of their star, key players having tough, tough early seasons, they found a way to start going deeper.”

Barry, an NBA champion and Finals MVP with Golden State in 1975, has witnessed the Warriors evolve over several decades, proving to have one of the best all-around insights on the game, franchise and league.

“I think what Steve had to do – and he’s finally done it – [is] realized, ‘Guys, I’m going to play the guys that are playing well at the time. Don’t worry about someone’s freaking ego, how many minutes you’re playing per night. Hey, we are here to win, and if you’re going to play two minutes or 20 minutes, you need to give everything you have,’” Barry added. And the guys are starting to do that.

“I was happy to see Wiggs. He came off the bench and made sure to tap the guy’s hand that he was going in for. So, I think they’re finally starting to get that kind of chemistry and becoming a team like we were.”

Despite experiencing sufficient turbulence on and off the floor, Golden State, behind great play from Steph Curry, Jonathan Kuminga and its young core, earned a second breath of life to their season, winning eight of their last 10 games.

Kerr and Co., who hope to make a deep playoff run, are reminding Barry of the 1975 team that swept the then-Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals, which was categorized for its grit and teamwork.

And a team that features Curry and Klay Thompson, with a similar DNA to that of the 1975 Warriors can’t be written off.

“I’m serious, I just watched the game like we were in the playoffs against Detroit one time, and Hopper [Charles Dudley], even though he got in a fight with Eric Money, he played a lot of minutes but he played tough defense,” Barry said. “Charles Johnson did his job, and the guys are starting to do that on this team.

“So, don’t write them off. If I were one of the top four teams going into the playoffs, and I had to play the Warriors, I would be really concerned [because] you got Steph Curry, you got Klay Thompson, who can get hot. These guys are amazing players. I think this team has the chance to do something, surprise a lot of people. Now, whether they win or not, who knows. There’s a lot of good teams in the league this year.”

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