Without Zion Williamson, the New Orleans Pelicans are slowly losing their steam against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma CityThunder. As a result, NBA legend Charles Barkley blasts the Pels with a funny take that makes too much sense.
Just recently, the Thunder handled their business against New Orleans when they went home with the 106-85 win. Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he’s an MVP candidate by dropping 24 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey each had 21 points, while Luguentz Dort contributed 12 points
New Orleans, on the other hand, were led by Brandon Ingram when the All-Star tallied 19 points and four rebounds. CJ McCollum posted 16 points and seven assists, while Herb Jones added 15 points and seven rebounds. Furthermore, this marked the third game in the series without Zion Williams, the primary piece in NOLA’s offense.
The loss placed New Orleans in a tight spot as they are just one loss away from elimination and a clean sweep by the Thunder. OKC, meanwhile, is on the brink of its first playoff series victory since the duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still played there during the 2015-16 season. They also have the chance to close out the series and move on to the next round.
NBA Legend Charles Barkley Blasts New Orleans Pelicans With Funny Take Amid Playoff Struggles
After the game, several personalities gave their take on New Orleans’ recent loss to the Thunder. Among those that have caught everyone’s attention was when NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal asked Barkley where the Pelicans are going, as seen in a clip shared by NBA on TNT’s official X account:
Chuck’s had it with the Pelicans 💀 pic.twitter.com/hko6mQY8kN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 27, 2024
As it stands, the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are outplaying the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans team in almost every area of the game. The former is scoring an average of 108.0 points and commits fewer turnovers while the latter is notching 89.7 points per game with a poorer effective field goal percentage of 45 percent.
Without Williamson in the lineup, there’s little hope for the Pels to advance. If they don’t want to justify Barkley’s hilarious take, they better start putting up a fight against the Thunder. Otherwise, they’ll exit the postseason earlier than they want and end up one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA today.
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