The first round matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets has been the most competitive and entertaining series thus far in the NBA playoffs. But you’re going to have to go to NBA TV to find Game 3 on Thursday night instead of TNT and Charles Barkley can’t believe it.
Barkley is never shy when it comes to questioning his bosses or NBA schedule makers while live on the air. When the Knicks and Lakers were struggling yet always on national television, he would frequently complain.
This time it’s the NBA’s postseason schedule. The top seed in the western conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, have destroyed the Memphis Grizzlies in the first two games of their series. Meanwhile, the Nuggets and Clippers have played out two nail-biters in their first two contests.
So with the schedule makers putting Grizzlies-Thunder on TNT and Clippers-Nuggets on NBA TV, you knew Charles Barkley was going to have something to say.
“Are y’all serious right now… y’all got the best series going on NBA TV.”
Charles Barkley was not impressed that the Memphis-Thunder game is on TNT over the Clippers-Nuggets game 👀
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/fQpfV1cf3W
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 24, 2025
“Are you all serious right now?” Barkley asked incredulously. “You all got the Clippers, the best series going on NBA TV instead of here? Come on Kenny.”
“Who made that decision? They’ve had the two best games by far,” he continued. “And we ain’t going to be there. Come on man.”
“Whoever made that decision is just stupid… I mean seriously. You’re scheduling these games, you’re like, ‘No, you know what, them other two games have been great, great basketball like the Joker said. Let’s go show the game where the team got beat by 75,” Barkley added.
Seriously though, as Kenny Smith points out at the end of the clip, it’s only a half hour difference in the scheduled start times. There’s no reason why Nuggets-Clippers couldn’t tip off on TNT at 10 p.m. ET and the Grizzlies-Thunder game can be played at the same time, or even moved to an earlier tip that would make more sense for the fans in Memphis. And there shouldn’t be any conceivable rules against flexing in this case given Warner Bros. Discovery operates both NBA TV and TNT.
Most sports fans will probably be tuned in to the NFL Draft on Thursday night anyways, but it’s a shame that the best series in the NBA postseason so far is getting relegated to NBA TV for a pivotal Game 3. And Charles Barkley is always going to be willing to speak out when that is the case.
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