Watch Warriors @ Rockets Game 6 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Saturday morning (2am)
Thursday 9 May 2019 11:40, UK
The Golden State Warriors have "no chance of winning without Kevin Durant", according to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
Durant was forced out of the Warriors' 104-99 Game 5 win over the Houston Rockets after tearing his right calf following a jump shot in the third quarter. He will undergo an MRI scan on the injury later today.
With Durant, Golden State were able to hold off the Rockets and take a 3-2 lead in the semi-final series, leaving them one win away from the Western Conference finals.
Speaking on TNT's Inside the NBA, Barkley said he believed that series-clinching win would prove elusive for the defending NBA champions.
"The Warriors have got no chance of winning without Kevin Durant - this series or any other series," Barkley said. "Kevin Durant made them unbeatable. They are not going to beat the Rockets without him. That's how important he is. He made them a dynasty, let's not sleep on that.
"People say, 'they won one [title without Durant]', and they did, they were terrific - but that was five years ago. People act like that was two years ago. They did not become a juggernaut until KD got there. He's the guy who made them a dynasty.
Barkley's fellow Inside The NBA panellist, former NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal, disagreed with his assessment.
"You don't think we're not going to see the old Steph and Klay?" asked Shaq. "I don't think they've dropped off. I think because Kevin is there that have deferred to him a little more."
"The Warriors don't have any depth any more," countered Barkley. "There is going to be so much pressure on Klay and Steph - they don't have any other scorers."
Barkley and O'Neal's fellow analyst Kenny Smith said he expected the depleted Warriors to win the series, backing them to win one of the potentially-remaining two games because, even without Durant, they still have the firepower to score against the Rockets' small line-ups.
"[The Warriors] aren't going to do anything differently [in Game 6]," he said. "There was a stretch with five minutes left in [Game 5] where the Rockets had five guards on the floor.
"At no point are the Warriors going to feel uncomfortable playing against a Rockets line-up offensively. They are going to be able to get to the rim.
"Rockets play small, so with Stephen Curry, Draymond [Green] and Klay [Thompson], [the Warriors] could still play well because of that."
Game 6 takes place in Houston in the early hours of Saturday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
