Charles Barkley has made a career off outrageously hot takes. The outcome of the Los Angeles Lakers- Portland Trail Blazers tilt on Tuesday night allowed the outspoken NBA on TNT analyst to take his latest bold prediction to another level.
The top-seeded Lakers were upended by the upstart No. 8-slotted Blazers, losing by a score of 100-93 in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round showdown.
Before the game, Barkley made the arguably spurious argument during pregame coverage on “Inside the NBA” that if Portland won Game 1, the team would eliminate L.A. in four quick games.
Barkley’s blazing-hot take unsurprisingly elicited derision from his fellow panelists, and it even left Ernie Johnson wondering if Sir Charles was spiking his Diet Coke.
“I know you’re socially distant,” E.J. said to Kenny Smith, “but can you see what’s in his cup?”
Following the Trail Blazers’ upset victory, Barkley not only gloated, he kicked his Hot Take Machine up a notch by breaking out a broom and sweeping the “Inside the NBA” set. The message of course being the Blazers will win the next three games and sweep the Lakers right out of the playoffs.
There is no question that the Blazers present a formidable foe for the Lakers. In fact, members of the team, including LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma, have previously acknowledged as much.
That being said, No. 8 seeds upsetting No. 1 seeds almost never happens in the NBA. It has occurred only three times since the league moved to its current postseason format in 1984.
However, the unprecedented situation playing out at Walt Disney World Resort’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., certainly provides for an environment where such bizarre things could occur.
In other words, could Barkley see one of his patently absurd hot takes actually come to fruition? That certainly would be something. And NBA fans would never hear the end of it out of Barkley.
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