The Portland Trail Blazers, as LeBron James said, are not your typical 8th seed. Even still with the buzz around the Blazers, they are massive betting underdogs to knock off the LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. But a little gamble has never been something that TNT’s Charles Barkley has shied away from. According to Barkley, the Blazers will send LeBron and the Lakers packing in the first round.
Barkley was a guest on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday morning to discuss the Lakers-Blazers series, where he once again rode with the Blazers, as he has since the restart began. Barkley also picked the Blazers to go to the Finals last season before they were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors. As for other expert picks, only one of ESPN’s NBA analysts had the Blazers advancing past Round 1.
The Blazers are currently a +340 underdog to win the series, according to BetMGM. Game 1 of the series is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. Pacific time on TNT.
