Charles Barkley’s ‘crazy’ West playoffs take seed has NBA fans at odds

Charles Barkley asked his Inside the NBA co-hosts, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, if he could say something “crazy.” After a ribbing from Smith, Barkley said that the LA Clippers might be the second-best team in the Western Conference. Johnson added that Barkley might not be too far off if James Harden and Co. were healthy.

Fans promptly reacted to Barkley’s hot take on Thursday:

“The Clippers have to beat the ‘Clippers Curse’ and the ‘Chuck Curse’ now smh”

One fan said:

“Did he not watch the game last night? The backups for the Rockets fought hard against the Clippers starters”

Another fan added:

“Believing that LAC is gonna make more noise than LAL is believing that Kawhi, Harden, & Powell will perform better than Luka, Bron, & Reaves in the playoffs. I don’t trust Harden like that.”

@fanalyst_the continued:

“The Kawhi we are seeing is the one who stopped curry. I see where he’s coming from”

@OfBusiness32 commented:

“1. Denver 2. Lakers 3. Warriors 4. OKC, 5. Clippers”

Charles Barkley came away impressed with the LA Clippers partly because of Kawhi Leonard. After averaging 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game in January and February, the Claw has found his form.

Leonard is putting up 25.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.2 APG and 2.1 SPG over the last two months. The versatile forward improved his shooting from 45.7%, including 39.0% from deep, to 52.1% with 39.7% efficiency from behind the arc.

James Harden has been steady but Leonard’s resurgence has given the Clippers a push in the last months. They are No. 5 in the Western Conference but could overtake the Denver Nuggets for the fourth spot.

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What made Charles Barkley give the nod to the LA Clippers as the second-best team in the Western Conference?

The LA Clippers are 16-5 since March, the second-best record in the West after the OKC Thunder (18-3). Each of the Clippers’ losses were close defeats to teams jostling for playoff spots. They went down to the LA Lakers 108-102 on Mar. 2 before suffering a 119-117 letdown to the Phoenix Suns two nights later.

LA had a hiccup in New Orleans, losing 127-120 to the injury-riddled Pelicans on Mar. 10. Charles Barkley knew very well the Clippers' last two defeats last month were at the hands of the Thunder (103-101) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (127-122). The Clippers have been superb, particularly on defense, prompting Barkley to give his “crazy” take.

The Clippers will close the regular season with road games against the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors. Charles Barkley might have more fuel for his argument if LA runs the table.