Overview
- The comments came after the Lakers edged the Clippers 125–122 to reach 34–21 and move into fifth place in the Western Conference.
- On Inside the NBA, Barkley said lower-seeded Lakers teams would lose to Denver, Houston or Oklahoma City and added he was not sure they could beat San Antonio.
- When pressed on matchups, Barkley also said he did not think Los Angeles would beat Minnesota in a series.
- Austin Reaves, wearing a headset before his interview, heard the critique and replied calmly that everybody is entitled to an opinion.
- Barkley’s stance continues a season-long skepticism of Los Angeles’ title chances, as injuries have limited Dončić, LeBron James and Reaves to only 11 games together.