The Los Angeles Lakers clearly do not have a fan in Charles Barkley.
As the month of February closed out, Barkley addressed the state of the Lakers from his vision. Itâs safe to say heâs not convinced about their status of contenders in the NBAâor even the Western Conference.
âIâve been saying it for months. The Lakers, theyâre just not a good team,â Barkley said with certainty.
The NBA legend went beyond the typical criticism for the team route. Barkley even threw a dig at ESPN and other networks and publications for feeling âobligatedâ to talk about the Lakers no matter what.
âI just think itâs funny that the media turned on Luka [Doncic]. Everythingâs Lukaâs fault now. I find that hilarious,â Barkley added in his route.
The State Of The Los Angeles Lakers
GettyThe Los Angeles Lakers took care of business against the Golden State Warriors.
LA had a fitting win on Saturday, February 28, as they dominated a shorthanded Golden State Warriors team on the road.
Without Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors take a clear step back. A Lakers team with the healthy core group could take care of business with a 129-101 victory.
Luka Doncic led the charge with 26 points in 29 minutes. He was two assists shy of a double-double.
LeBron James checked in for 28 minutes to score 22 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. He also had nine assists and seven rebounds.
Austin Reaves knocked down 7-11 shots from the field to score 18 points. He a plus-22 on the floor for the night.
A win over the Warriors helped the Lakers advance to 35-24 on the year. They remain within the Westâs playoff picture, taking up the sixth seed. LA holds a 1.5-game lead over the Phoenix Suns.
While avoiding the Play-In Tournament could be considered a successful run for the Lakers, as they would make the playoffs outright, Barkley seemingly canât be convinced that the Lakers can change his mind during the final stretch of the 2025-2026 NBA season.
âYâall thought they were going to be good,â Barkley said while dealing with pushback from his co-hosts with âmarquee franchiseâ arguments. âTheyâre going to be a marquee franchise for about another 20 games, and then the nightmareâs going to be over.â
Where The Lakers Stand In March
GettyLeBron James and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers.
If the season ended on March 1, the Lakers would hit with a first-round matchup against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. The Lakers and the Rockets met just once so far, playing a marquee matchup on Christmas Day.
The Lakers were dominated on the national stage, collecting a 119-96 loss. The trio of LeBron, Luka, and Reaves (14 minutes before injury) were on the floor for the night. Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant each contributed at least 25 points to the matchup for Houstonâs side.
Los Angeles clearly wonât sway Barkleyâs mind on where theyâre at as contenders, but they surely still believe theyâll be able to reach a new level come playoff time.
The Lakers are back on the floor on Sunday night (March 1) for a matchup against the Sacramento Kings. The two teams will tip off at 9:30 PM ET.
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