Inside The Heat

TNT's Charles Barkley Guarantees Boston Celtics Win Tonight Against Miami Heat, Takes Shot At Host Dan LaBatard

Charles Barkley says the Boston Celtics will force a Game 6 against Miami Heat

Shandel Richardson

TNT's Charles Barkley Guarantees Boston Celtics Win Tonight Against Miami Heat, Takes Shot At Host Dan LaBatard
TNT's Charles Barkley Guarantees Boston Celtics Win Tonight Against Miami Heat, Takes Shot At Host Dan LaBatard /
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Not only did Charles Barkley pick the Boston Celtics to win tonight's Game 5 against the Miami Heat, he also took a shot Miami native and podcast host Dan LaBatard. 

During the predictions segment of TNT's pregame show, Barkley said the Celtics will force a Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals. He then took a shot at LaBatard, one of the nation's most popular talk-show hosts. 

"Fat Dan LaBatard and your fat daddy ... I'll see you on Saturday," Barkley said near the end of the broadcast. Guarantee!!!"

LeBatard did have a response. The two are close friends and were just having some harmless banter before the tip-off. 

Here's the game preview:

Game time: 8:30 p.m., ET

Where: TD Garden

TV: TNT

Betting line: Celtics -8

VITALS: The Miami Heat and Celtics met four times this regular season with the teams splitting the series, 2-2. Miami is 53-80 all-time versus Boston during the regular season, including 30-38 in home games and 23-42 in road games. The teams enter this postseason having faced each other five times in the playoffs, including three times in the East Finals (2012, 2020, 2022), once in the Semifinals (2011) and once in the First Round (2010). The HEAT has recorded a 3-2 playoff series record against the Celtics over that span. For the Heat, Gabe Vincent (ankle) is questionable and Victor Oladipo (knee) and Tyler Herro (hand) are out. For the Celtics, Danilo Gallinari (knee) is out.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Max Strus

G Gabe Vincent

C Bam Adebayo

F Kevin Love

F Jimmy Butler

CELTICS

F Jayson Tatum

F Al Horford

C Robert Williams III

G Jaylen Brown

G Marcus Smart

QUOTABLE

Heat center Bam Adebayo: “We need to come out and set the tone. I feel like that’s the biggest thing. Set the tone, seek our identity and play more detailed basketball.”

MORE HEAT-RELATED STORIES

ESPN still favoring Celtics in series against Heat. CLICK HERE

Bam Adebayo knows he has to play better. CLICK HERE

Schedule for Eastern Conference finals. CLICK HERE

Tyler Herro could be ready if Heat make NBA Finals. CLICK HERE

For a look at some of the latest Heat apparel. CLICK HERE

If you wanna bet on any games at @PrizePicks or PrizePicks.com, use our link and code. They will match your first bet for up to $100. Here's the code: PR-R1YOFY6

Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

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For any Heat or NBA questions, please email shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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