Charles Barkley: Kings will beat Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers in playoffs

The Kings don’t know which team they will face in the first round of the playoffs, but NBA great Charles Barkley thinks they will advance to the conference semifinals no matter who they play.

Barkley issued one of his infamous guarantees during TNT’s pregame show Thursday, saying the Kings — who are making their first playoff appearance since 2006 — will beat the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round.

“The Sacramento Kings are gonna win a playoff series. GUAR-AN-TEE!” Barley said. “They’re gonna be playing the Warriors or the Lakers. That’s a tough first-round series. They’re gonna win the series.”

The Kings (48-32) have clinched no less than the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They will play host to the Warriors on Friday before concluding the regular season on the road against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

If the playoffs started today, the Kings would play the No. 6 seed Warriors in the first round, but that could change. The Warriors, Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves all have a shot at the sixth seed. The Clippers and Warriors look like the most likely first-round opponents for the Kings. The Lakers are also a possibility, especially if the Kings beat the Warriors on Friday, but that would be unlikely if Sacramento chooses to sit all of the key rotation players who were listed on the team’s injury report Thursday.

The Kings went 3-1 against the Lakers this season. They won 120-114 in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 134-120 on Dec. 21 in Sacramento and 116-111 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Sacramento’s only loss in the season series was a 136-134 setback on Jan. 7.

The Kings also went 3-1 against the Clippers this season. The Clippers won the first game 111-109 in Sacramento on Oct. 22, but Sacramento won the next three games 123-96, 176-175 (double overtime in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history) and 128-127.

The defending NBA champion Warriors have won two of three against the Kings with the final game in the season series set for Friday. Golden State won 130-125 on Oct. 23 and 116-113 on Nov. 7 before suffering a 122-115 loss in Sacramento on Nov. 13.

The Warriors need to win Friday as they try to avoid the play-in tournament. The Kings, who are likely locked into the No. 3 seed, have the luxury of resting players if they wish. They have listed De’Aaron Fox (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (ankle), Kevin Huerter (knee), Keegan Murray (foot), Malik Monk (leg), Davion Mitchell (knee) and Trey Lyles (shoulder) as questionable against the Warriors.