Los Angeles Lakers fatigue has set in early this season for NBA analysts and Charles Barkley is encouraging commissioner Adam Silver to do something about it.
After the Sacramento Kings put up 153 points in a dominant win against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night on TNT, Barkley was desperate to see them replace the Lakers on future nationally televised games.
“Let’s call Adam Silver, he’s at the game,” Barkley told Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson. “Let’s move all the Sacramento Kings (broadcasts) in for the Lakers. Let’s call him right now Ernie. Let’s kill all the Lakers games.”
Although Barkley is already tired of watching the Lakers this season, he still needed to be pushed by Johnson to offer any analysis for the Kings. After reluctantly agreeing to review the Kings win over the Nets, Barkley showed off his expertise on Sacramento by mistaking rookie Keegan Murray for pro golfer Keegan Bradley.
Still, Barkley’s sentiment about the Lakers rings true. Despite having LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, along with the fact that the Lakers have historically been a ratings magnet for the NBA, they stink.
The Lakers appear destined to be one of the NBA’s worst teams, yet they were scheduled for 27 national TV games this season, second most only to the Golden State Warriors, who have 30 national broadcasts as the reigning champs. Of those 27 national broadcasts for the Lakers, they have nine games remaining on TNT throughout the season. The Kings, who Barkley recruited to replace the Lakers on national TV, currently have no remaining games scheduled on TNT.
The NBA does have the ability to flex teams into or out of nationally televised broadcasts. Considering the Lakers’ putrid start to the season, it’s fair to assume they’ll be flexed off at least some of their 27 national TV broadcasts. But because they’re the “Lakers,” and because they have LeBron, networks are likely to ignore much of the Lakers’ fatigue that’s occurring so early in the season. Unfortunately it’s only mid-November, meaning there will be plenty of Lakers games on national TV and plenty of studio shows talking about the LeBron-led squad for the next five months.
[TNT]
