Charles Barkley already believes the Sacramento Kings will win their first-round NBA playoff series against the Warriors, and the TNT analyst is committed to Sacramento ahead of Game 5 Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center.
During a TNT show prior to Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, Barkley made an emphatic announcement about Game 5 between the Kings and Warriors.
“The little secret is, the Kings are going to be screaming their ass off tonight,” Barkley told co-hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. “Guarantee it. Secure it. And it won’t be soon. It won’t be soon.”
As powerful as that was, Shaq urged Barkley to be even more powerful.
“The Kings are going to blow the Warriors tonight,” Barkley said. “guarantee.”
The home teams held serve in the first four games of the first-round series, with the Kings winning Games 1 and 2, while the Warriors tied the series at two games apiece by winning Games 3 and 4.
Three of the four matches were decided by eight points or less. The Warriors’ 17-point win in Game 3 is the only contest that wasn’t even close.
Based on the Warriors’ struggles on the road this season and the raucous G1C crowd, the Kings should have the advantage in Game 5. But All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox will be playing through a broken left index finger, so it could be a level playing field.
Related: The Warriors welcome a challenge to calm the G1C crowd
The winner of Wednesday’s game will have a chance to close out the series in Game 6 on Friday night at the Chase Center.
If the Kings succeed in Barkley’s second prediction, they have a chance to close his first prediction in two nights.
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