Despite being a revered legend with the Phoenix Suns, Charles Barkley remains unbiased when it comes to his analysis on the league currently.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!That much became adamantly clear on Sunday in Game 4 for the Suns against the Denver Nuggets. With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, a near-ejection for Nikola Jokić was on the rise.
Should Nikola Jokic receive more punishment for the elbow on Suns owner Mat Ishbia?
Or did Ishbia flop? 🧐pic.twitter.com/pvqagkNc83
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2023
It appeared that Jokić was attempting to retrieve the ball after it had went out of bounds. Ishbia grabbed the ball initially and kept it out of Jokić’s reach, prompting the two-time MVP to shove the Suns owner.
Though much of Footprint Center, filled to the brim with Suns fans, were displeased with Jokić’s actions, Barkley seemed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.
"You can't throw the owner out."
Why not? Can they just freely interfere with the game with no consequences?
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) May 8, 2023
Barkley along with NBA on TNT co-host Shaquille O’Neal seemed to be in unison on the matter.
The end result was Jokić receiving only a technical foul and not being ejected. Though many fans in the arena would have wished otherwise, those from TNT saw another version of the fallout. A nearby fan that made contact with Jokić was removed from the arena.
In any case, Jokić being ejected could have shorted Denver on potential manpower for the remainder of Game 4. Barkley also made sure to give praise to Jokić during halftime, calling him the best center in the league currently.
Jokić has been a driving force so far in the series against Phoenix. He scored 30 points along with 17 rebounds and 17 assists in Game 3.
