Charles Barkley Has Thunder Warning to NBA During Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a clean sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies.

After returning to Memphis, the last two matches of the series were closely contested, following successive lopsided losses at the beginning.

Fans of both teams might have realized the series was finished following the Thunder’s decisive victory over the Grizzlies on Easter Sunday, winning by a remarkable margin of 51 points.

Charles Barkley sends Thunder warning

Perhaps most notably, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found his rhythm towards the end of the series.

Following Game 1, where the Thunder hardly required his contributions, scoring a season low of 15 points.

However, during the final game, Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a display typical of his recent performances, racking up 38 points in a narrow 117-115 victory.

The Thunder move forward to face the Denver Nuggets, a squad that appeared robust and dynamic throughout their grueling seven-game series.

Ahead of Game 1 against the Nuggets, TNT's Charles Barkley offered his prediction on the series and was far from shy about it.

"I’m not hesitating; I’m choosing OKC,” Barkley stated. “Nothing in the Western Conference has convinced me that anyone can defeat OKC.”

"You're going to see this for the first time. Denver has not done anything with their bench. Oklahoma City probably has the best bench in the NBA. I think that's going to be a huge [difference] in this series."

While the Thunder dominated this season, they split the regular-season series with the Nuggets 2-2.

The Nuggets beat the Thunder during their most recent matchup on March 10, enabling Jokic to accumulate 35 points along with grabbing 18 rebounds.

However, it's unlikely the Nuggets would be able to replicate that game for an entire series, especially considering that they shot 56% from three in that game.

Gilgeous-Alexander has a 40-point game against the Nuggets this season, so it will be interesting to see how Denver guards him out of the gate.