Charles Barkley Had Blunt Message for Nuggets After Ugly Game 2 Loss to T-Wolves

May 7, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

The Timberwolves rolled over the Nuggets, 106-80, in Monday night’s Game 2 on Monday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the West semis as the series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Friday night.

The defending champion Nuggets were outplayed from the opening whistle and are now on the ropes after dropping the first two games at home. After the loss, head coach Michael Malone blasted his team for an embarrassing effort. He’ll need Nikola Jokic and Co. to step up quickly or their season could come to an abrupt end against Anthony Edwards and the red-hot Timberwolves.

Charles Barkley thinks this series is already over, as he said this on TNT’s postgame show:

Chuck: “This series is a wrap. Minnesota is better than the Nuggets. They don’t have an advantage anywhere. … They’re gonna sweep the Denver Nuggets. Period.” 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Wt4aqexO1n

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 7, 2024

Barkley’s predictions rarely go his way so Nuggets fans can have some hope after Game 2, but it sure doesn’t look good right now for Denver.

2 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Charles Barkley on What Bothered Him Most About Beef With Kendrick Perkins

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins made waves last month when he criticized TNT's Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley for the duo's dismissal of the New York Knicks as a viable threat in the Eastern Conference.

"Obviously they don't watch basketball," Perkins said at the time on The Michael Kay Show. "I'm serious, they can't watch basketball on a consistent basis. The only time they actually probably watch the Knicks are when they're covering the Knicks on their game nights."

Barkley and O'Neal had fun with Perkins's verbal shot at them, as they put the NBA analyst's face on a punching bag and punched it on live television during Inside the NBA. Barkley appeared on the Club Shay Shay podcast this week with Shannon Sharpe to discuss the beef between himself and Perkins.

"Yeah it doesn't bother me because we take shots at players," Barkley said. "The only problem I had with what Kendrick says...there's nobody in the world who watches more basketball than me. And I had just come out of March Madness, which pissed me off even more because I was watching two or three college basketball games a day. March Madness really sucks because I'm watching games all day long. But to say other guys don't watch the games..."

"Because he has a different opinion than yours," Sharpe chimed in.

"Yeah," Barkley replied. "So that's the only thing that bothered me. There's nobody in the world that watches more basketball than me. But I don't get mad. The thing that's really funny about it...Shaq is so sensitive at times. I was gonna like let it go and he's like, 'Nah, nah, nah! My momma told me growing up we kill all roaches!'"

“Shaq is so sensitive at times. I was going to let it go, and he’s like, ‘Nah, nah, nah. My momma told me growing up we kill all roaches.’ … Shaq is so crazy. He made a rap diss song.” - Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/W9h1aKOKCS
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) May 1, 2024

Barkley will continue to make his thoughts felt on the NBA unapologetically as the playoffs continue, whether Perkins likes the opinions or not.

7 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Charles Barkley on TNT Possibly Losing the NBA

Episode 497 of "SI Media With Jimmy Traina" features a conversation with Charles Barkley. The "Inside the NBA" host discusses the possibility of TNT losing the NBA in the current television rights negotiations, his frustration with the lack of communication from Warner Brothers Discovery about the negotiations, whether the show could continue on another network, reaction from fans to the possible end of "Inside the NBA," the awkwardness of still having to work next season for TNT if they lose the NBA beginning in the 2025-26 season, the lack of loyalty from the NBA and what would make him decide between ESPN, NBC and Amazon if he became a free agent.

Barkley also goes off on CNN for never telling him that his show with Gayle King, "King Charles" was canceled, he explains what could make him be the subject of a comedy roast, who the two nicest GOATS are in sports, the Lakers saying that LeBron James doesn't have a say in their coaching search, reaction to his recent Caitlin Clark rant. Following Barkley, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins Jimmy for the weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week's topics include the passing of Bill Walton, Angel Hernandez's retirement from Major League Baseball, the mystery behind the Dov Kleiman Twitter account and the latest story about a restaurant charging for a ridiculous service.

You can also listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast on Apple and Spotify.

6 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Charles Barkley Has Simple Reason for Wanting LeBron James to Retire Soon

As Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James mulls an uncertain future, there's one respected NBA voice who hopes he decides to call it quits soon.

TNT analyst, Inside the NBA personality and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, during an appearance on former NFL star and ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe's podcast Club Shay Shay this past Wednesday, explained why he hopes James, who left his future up in the air following the Lakers' elimination from the playoffs this past week, announces his retirement sooner rather than later.

"I hope he retires soon because I hated the way I retired," Barkley said.

“I hope he retires soon because I hated the way I retired… Your ego says you can still do it… I don’t want to see any great players play when they’re past their prime.”
Charles Barkley on why he thinks LeBron James should retire 🗣️
(via @ClubShayShay)pic.twitter.com/GypviGjDeA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 6, 2024

Barkley, to the amusement of Sharpe, then recalled his own realization of when it was time to stop playing professional basketball.

"I remember telling myself my last two years, 'Ok, I'm going to get myself in great shape, I'm going to have a good year, then I'm going to retire.'" "Then I figured out, like, playing against air... Everybody is good against air. Everybody is great against air," Barkley said, going on to explain that he just couldn't compete against younger players anymore.

Barkley finally explained that he hopes James "retires while he can still play."

James, who will turn 40 in December, declined to answer when asked about his plans for the 2024-25 season following the Lakers' loss to the Denver Nuggets last week. The four-time NBA champion surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring list during the 2022-23 season, then proceeded to average 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the field in 71 games played this season.

In short, James is still playing at a very high level. But Barkley's comments are undoubtedly food for thought for the Akron, Ohio native.

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Charles Barkley Had Blunt Message for Nuggets After Ugly Game 2 Loss to T-Wolves

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Jimm Sallivan