Charles Barkley Thinks Lakers Are Cooked, Looks Forward To Golfing In Denver With Peyton Manning During NBA Finals

Charles Barkley is ready to stick a fork in the Lakers.

Following last night's Miami win over Boston in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, Barkley and TNT's Inside the NBA crew turned their attention to the Western Conference finals. Denver leads Los Angeles 2-0, but Barkley's of the opinion that the end result is a foregone conclusion.

He's got Denver besting LA, which will allow him to do some golfing in the Mile High City.

"I can't wait to get to the Finals because I know they got some good golf courses out there in Denver," Barkley said before publicly inviting Denver celebs to join him. "Hey Peyton Manning, I'm calling you. Sean Payton..."

Charles Barkley's on-air mention of his golf aspirations come as Denver and the Lakers prepare for tonight's Game 3, the first of which will be played in LA's Crypto.com Arena.

Barkley Has No Love For The Lakers

Despite the series being a best-of-seven and Los Angeles yet to play at home, Barkley seems to have little faith in LeBron and the rest of the purple and gold. When Kenny Smith asked if Barkley was already counting the Lakers out, Barkley wasted little time replying: "Hell yeah!"

Shaq then challenged Barkley to guarantee that Denver would best the Lakers and head to the NBA Finals as the Western Conference representative.

Again, Barkley wasted little time answering: "GUUU-ARAN-TEED," said Chuck.

Charles Barkley guarantees Denver beats the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images).

"I'm going to the Mile High. Peyton and Sean get the golf courses ready, Chuck's coming," Barkley then added.

And there's probably a good chance Charles Barkley already has Denver tee times reserved. He's certainly not surprised to see Denver in the position they're currently in. Barkley picked the Nuggets to win the West before the season began and doubled down on that take in February.

"I'm telling you man, I like what they're doing," Barkley told AltitudeTV's Vic Lombardi prior to the All-Star Game.

Tonight's Game 3 between the Nuggets and Lakers tips off at 8:30pm EST.

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