Charles Barkley has strong opinion about Timberwolves' chances against Spurs

Charles Barkley isn't the kind of guy to sugarcoat anything, and he also speaks his mind. So nobody should be surprised that he has a clear vision of the Minnesota Timberwolves' chances in their upcoming playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.

During an appearance on ESPN's "Inside the NBA," Barkley opened up about his thoughts on the series and the Timberwolves' odds of winning it.

"Without Anthony Edwards, they got no chance. Zero," he said. "It would be a difficult series with Anthony. (Nikola Jokic) is a little guy compared to Rudy (Gobert). Rudy is a little guy compared to Victor (Wembanyama)."

To say the Timberwolves have "zero" chance is a bit harsh, but it's true that losing Edwards to an injury is a brutal hit for the team.

Edwards, of course, has been dealing with left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise, according to a report from NBA.com, injuries he sustained in Game 4 of the team's series against the Denver Nuggets on April 25.

San Antonio Spurs projected to beat Minnesota Timberwolves in a series sweep

Barkley isn't the only one who questions Minnesota's abilities in this series. 

Peter Dewey of Sports Illustrated wrote, "With Anthony Edwards (knee) and Ayo Dosunmu (calf) up in the air for this series (Oh, and Donte DiVincenzo is out with an Achilles tear), the Timberwolves are facing an uphill battle to make their third straight Western Conference Finals."

Looking at odds, according to Sports Illustrated, the Spurs are favored to pull off a dramatic sweep in this series. That's not a good look for the Timberwolves. If Minnesota does win, the oddsmakers say the most likely way that will happen is in seven games, set at +2200.

There's no denying that the Spurs are a heavy favorite to win this series, but anything can happen in the NBA, so it's certainly far from over for the Timberwolves.

The first game of the series is set for Monday.