Charles Barkley Made Two Huge Postseason Guarantees For The Sixers And Clippers

Charles Barkley made two big predictions a few hours apart on Thursday night. Both involve the playoffs and exorcising some old ghosts for two NBA franchises hoping for big seasons.

Barkley “guaranteed” that the Philadelphia 76ers will make the playoffs this year and that the Los Angeles Clippers would finally break through to make a Western Conference Finals appearance.

Both were met with some healthy skepticism on the Inside the NBA set, but Barkley was feeling himself on Thursday night.

“I think Philly is going to make the playoffs,” Barkley said before TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader, before deciding to reinforce the claim with “I’m guaranteeing Philly is going to make the playoffs. Guaranteed.”

That’s a claim Barkley has made in the past, barring the health of stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. But it’s a big one to say just three days into the regular season, especially after an opening-night loss.

Later on, after the Lakers and Lonzo Ball got bodied by Patrick Beverly and the Los Angeles Clippers, Barkley made his second big prediction of the night.

“The Los Angeles Clippers are going to the Western Conference Finals,” Barkley said. “Guaranteed.”

It’s a spot the Clippers famously have never reached, despite having Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in place for years. But Griffin looked dominant in the post-Paul era, giving Clippers fans hope that they might be competitive this season after all.

“Stop it,” Shaq said, while Ernie Johnson held his head in wonder.

It was an eventful night for Barkley for sure. He even got in a simple burn of the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.

Chuck was feeling himself on the first Thursday of the season, but will take a while to see if his two predictions actually pan out.