TNT will air another NBA playoff double-header on Thursday night. The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons will play the early game (7 p.m. ET) in a 1-1 series followed by the lopsided matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies in the late game (9:30 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, Game 3 of the best first round series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers has been relegated to NBA TV.
Don't worry, you're not the only one who thinks this is ridiculous. Upon seeing the schedule—which was actually released days ago following the completion of the play-in tournament—for the first time, Charles Barkley was not happy. Barkley ripped the league for putting the best series on NBA TV, which he's not even sure they have access to inside studio 8H.
Even if the Grizzlies insist they're ready to take care of business, Barkley and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew didn't sound very happy that they had to watch it while a much better game aired on a different channel.
Jokic. Kawhi. 1st playoff game at the Intuit Dome. Best series. NBATV.
— Jokicism 🃏 (@jokicgoatic15) April 24, 2025
Make it make sense. pic.twitter.com/DRd1CAIXRm
"Are ya'll serious right now," Barkley said as he recognized the situation. "Are ya'll serious right now? Ya'll got the Clippers, the best series going on NBA TV instead of here?"
"Who made that decision," he continued. "They've had the two best games by far and we ain't gonna be there?"
It's only a problem if you don't have NBA TV, which they presumably do inside their Atlanta studio. Still, expect some good follow-up rants if the Thunder start to blow out the Grizzlies again.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Charles Barkley Rips NBA For Putting Thunder-Grizzlies on TNT Over Nuggets-Clippers.
