The TNT broadcaster had some thoughts.
When it comes to expressing his opinion, Charles Barkley has never been a shrinking violet. That’s what’s made him perhaps the single greatest player-turned-commentator in at least NBA history.
Last night, following your Los Angeles Lakers’ 122-118 overtime loss to the visiting Boston Celtics, Barkley weighed in on the inordinate surplus of national TV games allocated to a Lakers team that, at present, just isn’t that great. L.A. is the league’s glamor franchise with a big fanbase in multiple markets, so from that perspective the decision to have so many national games for the team makes sense, but the reality is they are currently on the outside of the play-in tournament picture.
“The Lakers stink, yet [the NBA is] forcing us to show ’em all the time like they’re gonna be good,” Barkley said. “There’s a conspiracy. And then we got all these clowns on television have to talk about them every day.”
“The Lakers are awful. We don’t talk about no other 12 seed — what’s the 12 seed in the East? We don’t talk about the Washington Wizards, do we? Ever? Do we ever mention the Washington Wizards, the great Bradley Beal? No. But for some reason these morning talk shows and us, we have to show the Lakers all the time. The Lakers stink.”
The team is 11-16, which on the surface is not great, but considering that L.A. started out a less-than-stellar 2-10, its 9-6 run since then may be a bit more indicative of what the club is capable of doing. The Lakers as currently comprised are certainly not world-beaters. But they are a competent team with one All-NBA talent in Anthony Davis, an All-Star in James, a Sixth Man of the Year fringe candidate in Russell Westbrook, and a few other competent rotation pieces. That is not enough to win much of anything, but it’s enough to be watchable, which is certainly an improvement over that miserable opening 12-game stretch.
