TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley fired criticism in the direction of Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks following his Game 5 performance against the Lakers.
Brooks has been under fire since Memphis’ Game 2 win for calling Los Angeles star LeBron James old and saying that he wouldn’t respect anybody that couldn’t put up 40 points on him. In the games that followed the callout, Brooks was ejected for hitting James in the groin, said the media created a villain narrative about him and then refused to speak to reporters after the team’s Game 4 loss.
And though the Grizzlies beat the Lakers 116–95 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, narrowing the first-round series deficit to 3–2, Brooks still caught flak from Barkley before the win due to his on-court performance in Game 4.
“You can’t talk all that noise and then play bad,” Barkley said.
“And average 11 points,” Shaquille O’Neal chimed in.
“You callin’ people old and the old man is kicking your a--, let’s be honest about it,” Barkley added.
"You calling people old and the old man just kicking your ass. Let's be honest about it."
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2023
Chuck didn't hold back on Dillon Brooks 🤣 pic.twitter.com/o56XnvsLb7
James had the worst game of the series in Game 5, scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 5-for-17 shooting from the floor. He recorded his first career 20-point 20-rebound game in Game 4 and has been a key reason that the Lakers took a commanding 3–1 series lead.
As for Brooks, he scored just 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 1-for-7 shooting from three in Game 4, and scored just eight points on 3-for-15 shooting from the floor in Game 5.
