Charles Barkley’s plan for the Hawks to fill in for Trae Young’s Game 4 absence came with a pretty big flaw.
“I would start Jeff Teague because if you start Lou Williams, I don’t see — yeah, Jeff Teague,” Barkley said on “Inside the NBA” on Tuesday before the Hawks’ 110-88 win over the Bucks. “I would start him.”
His co-host Ernie Johnson knew why it wouldn’t exactly work.
“He’s not exactly on the Atlanta Hawks’ roster,” Johnson replied.
Barkley’s head was jumbled, as Teague played for the Hawks from 2009-2016 and even played in 25 games for the franchise last season. But after bouncing around, Teague signed with the Bucks earlier this year — the Hawks’ foe in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Shaq had a pretty good time at Charles Barkley’s Jeff Teague mix-up. Screengrab (L, R), Getty Images (C)Shaquille O’Neal — the foil to Barkley on TNT’s NBA coverage — immediately let Barkley have it after his mistake.
“Big dummy,” O’Neal said, snickering.
As Barkley struggled to think of the Hawks’ guard he was actually thinking of — his co-hosts did not give him any help — O’Neal jokingly shouted out names of old Hawks, including 1986 Slam Dunk Contest champion Spud Webb.
Barkley and Shaq are no strangers to sparring on live TV, with the former roasting the latter this week when talking about NBA big men.
“The first time I saw Shaq in person, I said man – No. 1: He ugly,” Barkley said on Sunday.
