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Shaquille O’Neal is known to throw some shade Charles Barkley’s way from time to time. The two often trade barbs on “Inside the NBA.” This time, O’Neal got the best of Barkley with some help from the studio team.
Barkley gave out another one of his famous guarantees while giving out an NBA playoff prediction. Barkley hit his “guarantee” button and was pranked with a giant rainstorm of ping-pong balls dropping on his head. Barkley was unamused.
“I hate ya’ll man,” Barkley said. “Ya’ll got some balls in my Diet Coke.”
O’Neal was there to add humor to the injury. The big man had a sophomoric joke ready for the moment.
“You know you like balls on your head,” O’Neal said.
“Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson told Shaq to calm down. Barkley returned the remark with a disappointing glare while Kenny Smith laughed.
The falling ping-pong balls were a running bit on the show. The studio shocked Barkley by bringing back the prank, much to his dismay. He may be a bit more timid now during the rest of the playoffs, when issuing one of his guarantees.
Shaquille O’Neal picks LA Lakers over Denver Nuggets
Shaquille O’Neal could not help himself from being a homer with some of his playoff picks. The Big Diesel took on the LA Lakers to upset the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
Shaquille O’Neal claimed the Lakers wanted all the smoke before the series began. Even though the Nuggets have won the past eight meetings between the teams, Shaq has also won three championships with the purple and gold and is confident of the team's ability.
The Hall of Famers’ prediction is off to a rough start. Denver took Game 1 with a second-half surge to win 114-103. Nikola Jokic had his way with the Lakers with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
LeBron James got off to a hot start with 19 points in the first half. However, the Nuggets smothered the legend in the second, holding him to eight points. Anthony Davis did his best to carry the LA Lakers to the upset with 32 points. It was not enough as Jokic outdid the Lakers' center.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers let him down in Game 1. They will need more from “the others” as O’Neal likes to say in Game 2.
The Lakers' role players fell short in support of James and Davis. D’Angelo Russell struggled in particular. He shot 6-of-20 from the field and ended with 13 points.
The two will square off in Game 2 on Monday. The Lakers will try to steal home court with a win.
