Most NBA players are very well coached when it comes to doing media and not saying things that are too inflammatory in interviews and press conferences.
Gabe Vincent is among them, as the Heat guard joined the Inside the NBA crew after Miami’s dominant Game 3 win to discuss what went right and what their mindset will be going into Game 4. However, unlike most press conference rooms or interviews with a reporter, when you bring cliches and coach speak to the TNT desk, you’re liable to get called out for it, which happened to Vincent in a hilarious way that even had him chuckling on Sunday night.
Vincent was trying to do the right thing by talking about how the Celtics would show up and fight in Game 3, noting they’re “well-coached” and are “not gonna lay down.” Charles Barkley had to stop him in his tracks and ask if he watched Game 3, in which the Celtics quit in the third quarter and had their reserves in by the time the fourth quarter started and they were down 30.
Vincent: “[The Celtics] are a really good team…they’re not gonna lay down.”
Chuck: “Clearly you didn’t watch the game tonight. …Go look at the tape again.”
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— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2023
There truly is only one show that this kind of interaction will happen, because while a lot of us would think it, only Chuck would say it out loud with the guy right there — and get that kind of reaction. Vincent was doing his best to say all the right things, but Barkley wasn’t going to let him flat out lie about the Celtics’ effort after that particular game where it was clear that was a team very willing to lay down in certain situations.