Charles Barkley is one of several people who have predicted the Portland Trail Blazers will upset the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Not surprisingly, Shaq doesn’t want to hear it.
Barkley said before the series that he believed the Blazers were going to sweep the Lakers. He even busted out a broom on the set of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” to make his point. Chuck was feeling pretty good after Portland won Game 1, but L.A. bounced back and dominated the Blazers with a 111-88 win on Thursday night. Shaq celebrated by snapping Barkley’s broom during Friday’s show.
.@SHAQ snapped Chuck's broom that he brought out after the Blazers' first win
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/mLXIqgDbBx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 21, 2020
Barkley is sticking to his prediction of the Blazers winning the series, but Shaq made sure to point out that Barkley called for a sweep.
The biggest concern for Portland is that Damian Lillard left Thursday’s game with what looked like a nasty finger injury. The Blazers have the potential to create matchup problems for the Lakers, but they’ll stand almost no chance if Lillard is out or significantly injured.
Tension between Shaq and Barkley during the NBA playoffs is nothing new, of course. Shaq seemed legitimately angry at Chuck during postseason broadcasts last year. The Lakers-Blazers drama is just the latest chapter.
