Los Angeles Clippers forwards Matt Barnes and Blake Griffin have been teammates for about 3 seasons now and they’ve gotten close. Barnes is a bruising type of forward that isn’t afraid of anyone and Griffin is an all-around athlete that’s had his share of ‘issues’ with players in the past.
One issue included this gem when Barnes and Griffin went back and forth taking shots at each other.
Ahead of the 2012-13 season, Barnes joined forces with Griffin and the Clippers but before he could come on the team, the 2 had to patch things up.
Following from Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
So before agreeing to acquire the nine-year veteran, Barnes said, the Clippers checked with Griffin to receive his blessing. Barnes said he also spoke with Griffin on Thursday.
“I just kind of explained to him that it was no disrespect to him or his game,” Barnes said. “I think he’s one of the best players in the league and arguably the most athletic player. I play basketball hard-nosed and if you’re not on my team, during that 48 minutes we’re enemies. He appreciated it and understood where I was coming from.”
But Barnes’ issues just weren’t with Griffin’s incessant flopping, it actually ran deeper than that. It appears Barnes had or may still have a problem with Griffin not being able to back up what he does on the court.
From Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding.
You just see it over and over where Blake decides to sort of get that look on his face where he’s Mr. Tough Guy, and he steps toward guys and doesn’t end up doing anything.
To a lot of NBA guys, that is an ultimate crime, that is being a faux tough guy. Being a fake tough guy is a real minus in this league.
And I’ve had people tell me they would rather see Blake step to a guy and follow through and get in a full-fledged fight and change the perception that he will do something if you keep knocking him around. Obviously, he gets fouled all the time and gets fouled hard.
But in this league, right or wrong, there’s a perception that you should stand up for yourself and do something. If you’re not going to, then don’t act like you’re going to.
And a lot of people look at that and see – Matt Barnes, even, Blake’s teammate, when he was with the Lakers, felt adamant about this. This is a guy who won’t back it up – and in the NBA, that’s a crime.
It just makes sense. Practice what you preach, back up something you start. Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish.
That same feeling that Barnes apparently was put to the test in 2013 when Griffin and Serge Ibaka tangled up, Barnes took the brunt of the problem as well as the hit to his pocket.
Which caused Barnes to then send out this tweet right after the game.
Fast forward to the present and it appears that Barnes and Griffin have let bygones be bygones and turned the other cheek to look over those past issues and have some fun on a team that is full of -for lack of a better word- clowns. A bunch of guys who have fun with each other and the duo of Barnes and Griffin can be found at the center of some of those comedic happenings.
At the end of the day, as much as opposing players dislike Griffin, they’d probably grow to love playing with him and his ability.
