The Golden State Warriors are the defending NBA champions and they’re currently 52-5. But that doesn’t seem to be enough. There are still some out there that don’t think the Warriors are quite the juggernaut many think they are.

Recently, Oscar Robertson, one of the all-time greats, suggested that teams don’t know how to defend Stephen Curry and the Warriors, and that coaches have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to the defensive end.

Charles Barkley has long been a Warriors’ critic and he recently said Curry was just a jump shooter. Throw in recent remarks from Wally Szczerbiak, Cedric Ceballos and Stephen  Jackson and you can see why the Warriors and their fans might feel disrespected.

On the “NBA This Week,” we focused on the criticism and the perception of the Golden State Warriors, particularly with the older generation. We also previewed tonight’s game between the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, welcoming Anthony Slater, who covers OKC for the Oklahoman.

You can download the “NBA This Week” here.

Some highlights of the show:

–Robertson wasn’t so much criticizing Curry as he was the state of the game today. It’s become clear that many of players from previous generations are not fans of the 3-point shot and how prevalent it has become in today’s NBA.

–There is validity to Robertson saying that many modern-day coaches don’t understand how to coach defense. For years, many established coaches minimized and scoffed at the idea of the 3-point shot being a foundation of their team’s make-up, so no wonder they never spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to stop it.

–At the same time, what Robertson fails to realize is Curry is making plenty of shots while being guarded, and sometimes guarded pretty well.

–There seems to be a common lament among Warriors’ fans that Curry doesn’t get as many calls from the officials as he should. That’s ridiculous, Steinmetz said. In the game against Miami, Curry shot 15 3-pointers in 27 attempts. How’s he also going to go to the line a lot when he’s playing that type of game.

Another thing is that when Curry penetrates, he seldom drives into a crowded lane. Why? Because the Warriors are so good at spacing the floor, the middle is frequently wide open. It means Curry doesn’t have to rely on getting contact like a James Harden or Russell Westbrook. For the most part, those guys attack the rim and look to get fouled; Curry tries to score first, then get the foul second.

–One of the underrated aspects of the Warriors is their team IQ. But that’s not an accident. Take a look at their players and the coaches they played for in college: Curry played under Bob McKillop, a very respected coach at Davidson. Harrison Barnes played  under Roy Williams at North Carolina. Andrew Bogut played under Rick Majerus at Utah. Andre Iguodala played under Lute Olson at Arizona. Draymond Green played for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Not sure who Klay Thompson played under at Washington State, but regardless Thompson had initial basketball pedigree as the son of Mychal.

You can download the “NBA This Week” right here.

You can download the Sal and Steiny Podcast on ITUNES, right here.