After coming out of a slump in Game 5, LA Clippers star Paul George revealed how he was in a “dark place” prior, and how he overcame it. But now, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has rubbished his statements. While speaking on the Dan Patrick Show, Barkley said that basketball players are lucky compared to the others who are suffering in the pandemic.

“I’m not sure what that was about,” Barkley said. “People who are living in the pandemic have lost their jobs, got a hurricane battling down in Houston. I don’t think guys making millions of dollars should be worried just cause they’re stuck in a place where they can go fishing and play golf and play basketball… That’s not a dark place.

“All these people losing their jobs, those people are in a dark place. We are the luckiest people in the world to dribble a stupid basketball and make millions of dollars. We’re never in a dark place. I just think we need to be careful about what we complain about.”

Can Paul George lead the LA Clippers to glory?

In Game 5, George had his best performance so far in the Bubble. Within 25 minutes, he had 35 points while shooting 12/18 from the field. Throughout the series, Kawhi Leonard had been carrying the Clippers. So he would have been relieved to see George contributing in the crucial games.

Being up 3-2, they are now one win away from advancing into the next round. This could be an even easier task now, with Kristaps Porzingis being ruled out of the rest of the series.

If they move on to the next round, they face either the Denver Nuggets or the Utah Jazz. Both are led by in-form young guards, Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell. So the Clippers will have to be on their toes and bring their A-game into the series.

They will be relying on George to reduce the burden for Leonard, and George will be hoping to keep his momentum going. His poor performances made fans ridicule his “Playoff P” nickname, so he will under pressure to prove those haters wrong and take the Clippers to their first title in franchise history.