‘LeBron James and Lakers want Heat in Finals’: Charles Barkley mocks Shaquille O’Neal for NBA finals prediction

Charles Barkley ridiculed Shaquille O’Neal tonight for claiming he’d heard from his sources that the Lakers would prefer facing the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals went about as well as the Lakers could have hoped for.

They got Nikola Jokic into foul trouble, Jamal Murray had trouble scoring and when the going got tough in the 4th quarter, LeBron James took them to the W down the stretch. James finished with a humongous 38 point triple double, the 27th of his playoff career.

Shaq claims the Lakers want to face the Heat in the Finals, Chuck mocks him

In the post-game show, Shaq said the Lakers will feel proud at having put together a team that has made it to the Finals. According to him, it will bring the city back together.

He also went onto say that LeBron James and Lakers would be desperate to play the Heat in the NBA Finals. For him Heat seems like the favourable opponent and ‘The King’ would love to see face his former franchise in the finals.

“They’re just going to celebrate and sit back tonight and say, ‘We’re gonna play Boston or Miami’. But something tells me they want the Miami Heat.” Shaquille O’Neal said.

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Ernie Johnson enquired him as to what tells him that, to which Shaq replied with “I’m not allowed to reveal my sources.” At this point, Barkley cut him off in hilarious fashion saying “You ain’t got no sources, fool!”

Shaq had little else to say but “Chuck, I’m a certified man to talk about this.” while shushing him.

Lakers vs Heat or Celtics?

But will the Lakers really want to face the Heat? Jimmy Butler has the Miami Heat ticking and Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic are setting the stage on fire against the Celtics. Thus, the Heat could prove to be a trickier opponent than the Celtics.

Celtics on the other hand don’t seem as well-oiled as the Heat. While Jayson Tatum is cooking on all cylinders, Kemba Walker and the supporting cast have been blowing hot and cold in the ongoing series. At the moment it seems like Shaq is wrong and the Lakers would want to face the Celtics in the finals.

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However, a lot can change in the next 2 games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

This game brings the TNT broadcast coverage of the NBA to a close. ABC has the broadcast rights for the NBA Finals, as well as the Eastern Conference Finals. While it’s a shame we won’t be having Charles Barkley and Shaq pull out bad predictions again, listening to Mike Breen’s signature “BANG!” after every 3-pointer will probably be worth it.