Charles Barkley believes in Magic. Forget about the LeBron James-Kobe Bryant obsession from the NBA, Barkley picked the Orlando Magic to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night on his TNT post-game show.

“I look at the matchups and I just think (Cleveland) can’t match up with the Orlando starting unit,” Barkley said.
“I think Orlando has a better bench.”
Maybe Chris Webber’s comments got slightly buried in the laughs and chatter about Barkley’s Magic pick, but rewind your TiVos and he clearly said, “I feel Orlando is the best team in the NBA.”
Wow. What a difference two games make. It wasn’t long ago where many questioned if the Magic even belonged in the Eastern finals as they struggled to beat a Kevin Garnett-less Celtics team.
Thanks to a little pizza and a lot of Hedo Turkoglu shots, the Magic avoided the dreaded fishing trip.
Here’s a quick run-down of the top entertaining TV moments Sunday night:
Turkoglu caught with his healthy pre-game meal of pizza. Hey, the man finished with 25 points and 12 assists, so I won’t knock him for his carb intake.
Barkley’s admission of the two biggest lies athletes tell: 1. Every game is the same; 2. Athletes don’t read the newspaper. I hope Barkley is right about the latter.
Miller criticizing Dwight Howard for calling out Stan Van Gundy after Game 5. Aren’t we over this already?
Moments later Barkley criticized Miller and Marv Albert’s looks, saying, “Not a good-looking group there; that’s definitely not George Clooney and Denzel Washington calling the game.”
TNT commentator Kenny Smith giving Boston the edge during the pregame show because they don’t have “stage fright” and, “Celtics guards have a huge advantage over the Magic.” Interesting perspective from a former NBA guard.