The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night as part of the first game of TNT's weekly double-header. While Luka Doncic was in the lineup for the Lakers, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jaxon Hayes all ended their road trip early and flew back to Los Angeles rather than travel to Milwaukee and Denver.
TNT's Jared Greenberg explained all this on the pregame show, saying LeBron is progressing and his groin injury isn't as bad as the one he one he suffered a few years ago. Greenberg revealed that LeBron had headed home early to avoid a flight to Denver and so he could get some rest at home.
Charles Barkley was not buying it.
"I just hope they survive," Barkley said sarcastically. "They act like, listen man, they're not flying commercial. They're not flying Southwest." After the crew agreed that Southwest wasn't that bad, Barkley continued to doubt the report.
"He wasn't going to play anyway. LeBron's probably out for the rest of the season," Barkley predicted. "I don't see him coming back. We don't have to ask his agent. And he stayed in New York 'cause it's New York. He didn't want to go to Milwaukee 'cause it's Milwaukee. That's why he flew back home. Stop it man. These guys be juicing y'all up all the time."
It's unclear whether Barkley also believes that Hachimura and Hayes also wanted to avoid a pointless trip to Milwaukee. It also makes you wonder what exactly Barkley wanted James and the Lakers to say publicly when Barkley knows that LeBron wasn't going to play again on this road trip. Though we can all agree someone telling a reporter that Milwaukee is boring would also have been worth a headline or two.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Charles Barkley Casts Doubt on LeBron James’s Reason for Skipping Trip to Milwaukee.
