Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Turner Sports
The Blazers won’t sweep the Lakers, and Charles Barkley’s broom paid the price
In perhaps the most devastating day for the broom community since the invention of swiffers, Hall of Famer center Shaquille O’Neal murdered one of their brothers on national television without blinking an eye.
In the aftermath of the Blazers surprising Game 1 victory over the Lakers, Barkley celebrated his outlandish pick — Portland reaching the NBA Finals — by insinuating that they’d sweep the Lakers en route to that goal. With Los Angeles being the No. 1 seed and featuring two All-World players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that obviously did not happen. The Lakers put the hurt on Portland in Game 2, winning by a convincing 111-88 scoreline. Rather than retiring the broom to a closet in piece, Shaq made an example of it to embarrass Barkley.
Shaq murdered a broom in plain sight and got away with it
So, when does O’Neal’s leave of absence start? Crickets?
The Lakers return to normalcy was bound to happen soon, but the drastic difference in their Game 2 performance from Game 1 was something most NBA pundits didn’t see coming so soon. Not only this, but Damian Lillard’s dislocated finger looms large over the rest of the series, even though he’s determined to play through injury. With CJ McCollum already playing through a fractured back, Portland’s two best players are hampered, while James and Davis (specifically the latter) are only growing stronger.
This is why Barkley could only sit and laugh after O’Neal’s rather loud statement against him on Friday’s pregame telecast. Not only is his proclamation of a sweep dead, but any chance the Blazers have at moving past the Lakers are hanging on by a thread, and that’s being generous. A 1-1 tie is not telling in terms of the pendulum swinging heavily in the Lakers direction. The metaphors are endless, and they all favor LA at the moment.
The No. 1 seed was going to play like the No. 1 seed, brooms everywhere be damned.