A week ago, Charles Barkley provided lifetime meme material by demonstrating how Zion Williamson should fall to avoid injuries. Things took a serious turn since then. The 23-year-old is out with a more serious injury, putting the Pelicans’ playoff chances in jeopardy. Barkley, who’s dealt with weight and conditioning issues throughout his NBA career, once again presented a harsh reality check meant for Zion. According to him, Williamson is following the critiques at the wrong time.

“He’s lost 25 pounds during the season. You can’t use the season to get into shape. He’s got to learn from that. He’s got to get in shape over the summer and come into the season in shape,” Chuck said during his appearance on Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s show. According to reports, since Zion’s run in the in-season tournament, he’s lost 25 lbs or more. When the Pelicans lost 106-110 to the Lakers on Tuesday, Zion had to leave briefly due to an injury but returned to play till the end.

Now he’s out of the next play-in game against the Kings due to a hamstring injury. He will be re-examined in two weeks, leaving the Pelicans’ status uncertain. As per Chuck, Zion should’ve paid attention to his body a lot sooner.

“He made a tragic mistake getting in shape during the season,” Barkley added and went on to say, “He probably cost his team the series.” Chuck believes that a healthy Zion would’ve been key to beating Sacramento to secure the No. 8 spot in the West. The No.8 seeded team will meet top-seeded OKC in the first round and Barkley said that Williamson would’ve given the Pelicans great chances to beat them.

“Because if they win tomorrow night, they got no chance at beating Oklahoma City without him. Zero.” Harsh as it may sound, that’s the general consensus out there.

Chuck and Shaq, two former NBA pros who took advantage of the offseason to get in shape every time, had been on Zion’s case from the start of the season. He was visibly struggling with following the team’s diet and conditioning program. But it wasn’t until the Pelicans lost the NBA In-Season tournament to the Lakers that he took the advice more seriously.

Barkley admitted they could see that Williamson worked hard in recent months to lose weight. It was, however, ill-timed while the team was fighting for a playoff berth.

TNT duo’s lessons to Zion Williamson

Both LeBron James and Charles Barkley praised Zion for a phenomenal game despite his injury, though the Pelicans lost. In that game, Williamson went for 40 points with 11 rebounds, 5 assists, a block, and a steal in only 36 minutes.

Before the game ended, Chuck had more advice for Zion to stay injury-free. According to Barkley, he practiced to “fall on your a**” to avoid injuries to his hands. He provided a hilarious live demonstration of it too. Whether Williamson adapted it or not, it left everyone in splits.

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While Barkley is giving practical advice for Zion to pay attention to his physicality, Shaquille O’Neal is on a different page. “Icy hot,” the Shaq-endorsed pain relief recommendation came from its spokesperson himself. Let’s see who Zion listens to.