Charles Barkley laughs at idea of playoff run for Warriors or Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are two of the NBA's most popular teams, but they haven't been especially good this season. Sitting in ninth and 10th place in the Western Conference, respectively, their only realistic chance at advancing to the playoffs comes through winning two games in the play-in tournament, which would both be on the road if the standings hold.

On "Inside The NBA," Barkley criticized ESPN or "the idiots on the other network," for treating the Lakers and Warriors like legitimate contenders.

"The play-in's not a real thing, just for the record," he argued to co-host Shaquille O'Neal. "That's just something we made up, Shaq. It's like the CBI Tournament."

O'Neal had argued earlier that either the Lakers or Warriors could beat the current top seed in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a first-round series. He also sparked an extended debate on the difference between the words "can" and "will," which led to Barkley and Kenny Smith speculating about whether they "could" punch O'Neal in the face or if they "would" hit him.

But it's no guarantee that either team can even get to the eight seed. They would have to get past the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks in the play-in first and they haven't done great against those teams this season.

The Kings went 4-0 against the Lakers while the Warriors split their season series with Sacramento, with three games coming down to a single point. The Suns are 3-1 against the Warriors and 2-3 against the Lakers, though two losses came with Devin Booker out. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 2-1 against the Lakers and won their lone matchup with the Warriors.

While the Miami Heat did make it to the NBA Finals from the play-in last season, the difference was that Miami had the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference, a far cry from being the conference's ninth- or 10th-best team. In the three-year history of the play-in, a No. 10 seed has never advanced to the actual playoffs.

Just like a CBI Tournament winner has never made it to March Madness.