Lakers News: Where Charles Barkley Thinks Warriors Stand After Falling To 3-1

How the Hall of Famer feels about Golden State's chances in its series against Los Angeles.

Hall of Fame Philadelphia 76ers/Phoenix Suns/Houston Rockets power forward-turned-Emmy winning TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley was typically blunt after your Los Angeles Lakers survived to claim a narrow 104-101 Game 4 home victory against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The win puts Los Angeles on the brink of advancing to its second Western Conference Finals appearance in four seasons, as the club is now 3-1 in the series, and needs just one more win to move on. The fifth game in the series, which will present an opportunity for LA to close out, tips off tonight at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Chuck on the Warriors: "They're cooked. This series is over." pic.twitter.com/ISRUnbXpxW

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 9, 2023

"They're cooked," Barkley declared of the Warriors. "This series is over, whether [they fall] in five or six [games]... it's over. I think the Lakers did a fabulous job of making Klay [Thompson] and [Stephen Curry] work. They're attacking them, so they know [those are] the two guys they got to worry about. They attack them every single time in the half court, 'cause the Warriors are switching everything. I personally thought Klay and Steph got tired. in the game, 'cause I love the way the Lakers [decided], 'We're not letting those guys sort of run up-and-down the court and just shoot.' 

Curry did finish with a 31-point, 14-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, though he had a rough shooting night, going 12-of-30 overall (3-of-14 from deep). Thompson scored just nine points on 3-of-11 field goal shooting.

"They [the Warriors] run a pick-and-roll every time and they're trying to guard LeBron [James]. He's going at Klay, he's going at Steph, and I think, when the game was on the line, a guy named Lonnie Walker had his way. Austin Reaves [did too]."

Walker scored 15 points in the fourth quarter alone to help the Lakers pick up the W, while Reaves had 21 points in the game overall. James (27 points, nine rebounds, six assists) and Davis (23 points, 14 rebounds) paced LA in scoring and rebounding, as usual.

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