CHARLES Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal faced off for the last time in the 2023-24 NBA season, disagreeing over their favorites for the championship.
ESPN is the home of the NBA Finals, which will begin on June 6 and see the Dallas Mavericks take on the Boston Celtics.
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And so, TNT’s Inside the NBA wrapped up the season after the Western Conference finals ended with the Mavericks’ 124-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Before the merry team signed off, they gave their predictions for the Dallas-Boston series.
And Barkley, 61, went to the Celtics — even though they’ve been playing without center Kristaps Porzingis for a month.
“I haven’t seen anything yet that makes me think the Celtics aren’t going to win the championship,” Chuck said.
“Without Porzingis, I still like the Celtics.”
Barkley noted that the Celtics have four players who can protect the Mavericks All-Star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
That’s Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, as well as Boston’s superstar duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“I think it’s going to be quite a series,” added the TNT analyst.
O’Neal, 52, disagreed with the idea that the Celtics have four defenders capable of containing Doncic.
He then tipped Dallas to win it all.
“I like the way they play,” Shaq said.
O’Neal added that the series should be “a little special” for Irving and Porzingis, considering their pasts in Boston and Dallas, respectively.
As the Inside the NBA panel said goodbye to viewers, Barkley made another joke about TNT’s potential loss of TV rights to league games.
“I can’t wait for next season. It’s going to be amazing,” said host Ernie Johnson.
NBA Western Conference Playoffs
First round
Oklahoma City Thunder (1) 4-0 New Orleans Pelicans (8)
Los Angeles Clippers (4) 2-4 Dallas Mavericks (5)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) 4-0 Phoenix Suns (6)
Denver Nuggets (2) 4-1 Los Angeles Lakers (7)
Conference Semifinals
Oklahoma City Thunder (1) 2-4 Dallas Mavericks (5)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) 4-3 Denver Nuggets (2)
Conference Finals
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) 1-4 Dallas Mavericks (5)
In response, Chuck asked to clarify whether Johnson said “explosion” or “last” before letting out a loud laugh.
TNT’s current TV contract with the NBA expires after next season.
And it looks like NBC may snatch the Warner Bros. network’s game package. Discovery with an offer valued at between US$2.5 and 2.6 billion.
This would likely mean the end of Inside the NBA after more than 30 seasons.
Barkley has been outspoken about the possibility of a TNT-NBA split and the potential layoffs that could entail.
Chuck’s frankness would have generated tensions among the cast.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
