Sir Charles Barkley is as about as opinionated at they come and Friday he shared on the Dan Patrick Show that he believes the Los Angeles Lakers will trump Oklahoma City in this coming year's western conference finals.
Although the NBA Hall of Famer did express his concern with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard ability to stay healthy throughout the season, he ultimately went with the new and improved Lakers due to OKC's inability to score in the low post.
And on paper, Barkley's analysis does seem to have some validity. The Thunder, a team that already struggles to get easy buckets, would now have to face Howard's pick-and-roll eating presence in the middle for a theoretical seven game series. Even if the new Superman doesn't get back to his old level, he still has enough natural ability to manhandle the best the Thunder have to offer (Kendrick Perkins?).
No doubt the western conference still goes through Oklahoma City but it seems Barkley may be ahead of the curve in saying "you're not going to win championships just shooting jumpers."
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