Charles Barkley's Alarming Assessment of LeBron James, Lakers Ahead of Game 4

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of getting swept by the same team in back-to-back years.

The Lakers fell to the Nuggets 112-105 on Thursday night and now face elimination in Game 4. It's the second straight year Nikola Jokic and Denver have a chance to deliver a final knockout blow and sweep the storied Western Conference franchise in an NBA Playoffs series.

Is it just a roster and talent mismatch? Or is there more to the story at this point? Probably a bit of both, but Charles Barkley thinks the Nuggets playing mind games has had a significant impact on LeBron and the Lakers.

Related: Charles Barkley Takes Shot at LeBron James Following Lakers' Game 3 Loss

Barkley gave an alarming assessment of LeBron and the Lakers ahead of Game 4 on Saturday.

"It's like their spirits were broken," Barkley said after Game 3. "They were just going through the motions in the first half. I haven't seen a broken spirit like that since Kenny's last couple races to the board."

It's not too often LeBron James' mindset gets "broken." Charles Barkley might be right here, though.

After Game 3, LeBron took serious heat for his apathetic comments towards losing a 10th straight game vs. the Nuggets.

"I don’t feel a way about anybody that don’t want to strive to be as close to perfect as possible," said James. "And it’s just basketball at the end of the day. It's just basketball."

Related: LeBron James' Apathetic Response to Lakers' Playoff Defeat Leaves NBA Fans Speechless

It's just basketball? Okay then.

LeBron and the Lakers will try and avoid another sweep at the hands of the Nuggets on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.