Utah Jazz: Charles Barkley might have just cursed the Jazzmen

One man’s words of assurance about the Utah Jazz could actually spell doom.

Recent Utah Jazz public defender Charles Barkley sure does talk a lot. And the NBA on TNT analyst/entertainer tosses “guarantee” into countless discussions. So throughout the course of any given season, it’s pretty much impossible to keep track of all the predictions that the Hall of Famer spews.

That said, it doesn’t require an official tally to claim with relative certainty that a majority of Barkley’s crystal-gazing winds up leading to viewers demanding a refund. In other words, a wise gambler might consider betting on the exact opposite of any outcome that the 58-year-old specifically forecasts with utmost confidence these days.

Plus, it’s worth pointing out that Barkley’s praise for a team — particularly the Jazz, it seems — is often the equivalent of voodoo, at least for the next game or two.

Case in point, remember what transpired in late April shortly after “The Chuckster” had tried his darndest to convince Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith to buy into his Utah hype:

Well, his colleagues asserted that the franchise is not a “proven commodity” and therefore still has too many required steps to take to hoist a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy this year. Next, as soon as Kenny, Shaq, and host Ernie Johnson reminded Barkley of the Jazz’s two consecutive first-round exits, “The Round Mound of Rebound” predictably shouted out a guarantee:

“I guarantee that won’t happen this year.”

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Then, the next two Utah outings resulted in losses, both at the hands of the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, seeing that Minnesota finished this season with a 23-49 record, it’s safe to say that those defeats were among the most utterly inexplicable by the Jazz on their way to compiling a league-best 52-20 record and earning their first No. 1 seed in more than 20 years.

Or maybe those back-to-back L’s weren’t all that inexplicable after all. No, perhaps the explanation is simple: Barkley temporarily jinxed the squad.

Uh-oh, Charles Barkley essentially doubling down on his Utah Jazz guarantee

On Tuesday night, while looking ahead to Wednesday night’s Play-In Tournament matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, Charles Barkley warned that the Lakers won’t stand a chance to advance past the first round this go-round should they end up as the No. 8 seed.

First, for that to happen, the defending champs would have to fall to the Warriors at home and two days later beat Wednesday evening’s winner between the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies. Now, subscribing to the following Barkley statement, if that is indeed to be how the Play-In Tournament plays out, then the Lakers might as well just bow out now:

“If the Lakers play Utah, they are going to lose. I hate to say this: it’s a much easier matchup for them to play the Phoenix Suns…I’m sick of this Utah Jazz slander.”

Understandably, despite the strong temptation to embrace “Sir Charles” for all of his kind words, some Utah Jazz fans are sick of his seemingly guaranteed curse.