Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley Clash With TNT Co-Host After James Harden Receives Playoffs Credit

Inside the NBA rarely cuts you any slack, especially in the playoffs. Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith will not forget to highlight a subpar performance, calling out superstars who may have had a bad game. This time, however, co-host Ernie Johnson decided to slide past James Harden, who was, at the very least, underwhelming in game 5. Johnson, contrarily, dished out some credit for the Los Angeles Clippers guard for his overall performance, but Barkley and Shaq decided to put those positive talks to sleep. 

Johnson commented after game 5 between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers, “James Harden had a great series, but this was not a good game“. Listening to the comment, Barkley told Shaq, “Hey Shaq, I remember when I had two good games out of five, they ran me out of the league“. The LA legend replied, “Me too“.  

Ernie Johnson tried to defend his comments by highlighting James Harden‘s efficient field goal percentage, but Barkley continued, “He had two good games out of five Ernie. I didn’t say any of that, I didn’t say any of those stats Ernie.” Harden finished the game with just 7 points, shooting below 20% from the field. He also shot a poor 1/7 from the three-point line and had 4 turnovers, which led to a 30-point loss. 

Barkley hilariously ended his rant by highlighting that, his former teams traded him when he had only two good games out of five. Well, looks like he wants Harden in trouble! The Beard is averaging 22.2 points this series. He was an X-factor in both game 1 and game 4, in which the Clipper sealed a win. This efficiency disappeared today. Moreover, Barkley and Shaq were not the only ones to call out Harden

Kendrick Perkins blasts “unpredictable” James Harden and Paul George

Paul George had an off night too. He had just 15 points, shooting 4/13 from the field, and 2/6 from the three-point line. With Kawhi Leonard’s absence, PG and Harden had a bigger responsibility today. Sadly, they did not rise. Kendrick Perkins tweeted after game 5, “PG and Harden are the most UNPREDICTABLE Players in the league. It’s just weird how at times they don’t look engaged or even look like they give a damn.”

A 30-point loss in the playoffs is quite devastating. Ever since Harden left the Houston Rockets, his performance in the playoffs has been inconsistent. The Clippers will now head back to Dallas for an elimination game. Leonard is expected to be on the sideline once again. Let’s hope Harden and George fill his absence this time.