Hawks' Twitter Reminds Charles Barkley That He Picked Them to Miss Playoffs

In an age where all predictions are easily documented, pundits are asked more than ever to make premature prognostications. This makes analysts victims of "gotcha" moments like the one Charles Barkley faced from the Atlanta Hawks' Twitter account.

On the 2016-17 season's first night, the TNT commentator theorized that Atlanta would miss the playoffs on account of losing All-Stars Jeff Teague and Al Horford. Despite regressing to 43-39, they reached the postseason as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed.

Barkley's prediction wasn't totally off base. The Hawks finished two games ahead of the eliminated Miami Heat and wield the worst average point differential (minus-0.9 per game) of any playoff participant.

NBA on TNT took Atlanta's joke in stride:

The Hawks then playfully chided Barkley for putting their first-round opponents, the Washington Wizards, in his preseason playoff picture:

Update from Wednesday, April 26

With the series tied at 2-2 and Game 5 looming on Wednesday, the Hawks had some more fun with Barkley:

--End of Update--

Barkley rarely minces words and doesn't have a Twitter account, so don't expect him to start singing Atlanta's praises.

[Twitter]