The Los Angeles Lakers (36–31) and Golden State Warriors (34–31) sit on the fringes of the Western Conference playoff picture, in ninth and 10th place, respectively. While both teams are in decent shape to make the NBA’s play-in tournament, they haven’t looked like real championship contenders through most of the season.
Even so, the two franchises are among the most notable in the NBA, with LeBron James and Stephen Curry starring for the two franchises, so they still get plenty of national attention. Charles Barkley of TNT’s Inside the NBA is getting sick of it, and on Thursday he took a jab at “the other network,” which has been widely interpreted as ESPN, for its focus on the two teams.
“The West is going to go down to the wire. It’s simple. It’s going to be fun to watch,” Barkley said. “You know, our sister network—the idiots on the other network keep talking about the Lakers and the Warriors like they got a chance…”
