Charles Barkley has his favorite to win the NBA Finals this year.
But if the Celtics can’t do it this year, the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer said he thinks it will be because of some legendary choke.
Speaking on “Inside the NBA” before Thursday’s game action, Barkley said the Celtics — who sit seven games up in the top spot of the Eastern Conference after their 115-109 to the Nuggets — are the heavy favorites to win it all.
He said it would take a total mess-up on the part of Boston if they won’t take it all.
“If they don’t win the championship this year, it would be a total gag job,” Barkley said of the Celtics on TNT’s pregame show. “Because they’ve got everything.”
The Celtics have been on the cusp the last few seasons, losing in the NBA Finals in 2022 to the Warriors before losing a heartbreaking seven-game Eastern Conference Finals to the underdog Heat last year.
And after some pushback from the rest of the show, Barkley explained why the Celtics are so strong as they gear up for the rest of the season.
“Dude, come on. You’ve got [Jayson] Tatum, [Jaylen] Brown, Jrue Holiday — Ernie [Johnson], your rotation is gonna shrink during the playoffs so your bench is not as important as you think it is,” Barkley responded. “They’ve got everything. You’ve got Brown and Tatum, you’ve got two of the best 10 players in the league probably. You’ve got a great leader in Jrue Holiday. You’ve got probably the best sixth man, even though he’s a starter — I’m talking about [Kristaps] Porzingis, I’m not even counting Derrick White.
“Porzingis is probably the best guy who’s not a number one or two guy on the team in the NBA. And then you can throw Derrick White in there too. I would be shocked if the Celtics don’t win.”
Coming into Thursday night, Tatum was 10th in the league in scoring at 27.1 points per game, while Brown slotted in at 22.4 points per night and ranked 24th.
Barkley said that potent combination is better than what else the East has to offer, including the second-place Bucks and Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
“Other than the Celtics, there’s not a single team that scares you. Milwaukee has [Giannis Antetokounmpo] and [Damian Lillard], but nobody fears them. They don’t have a lot of athletic ability. The Knicks don’t look like they’re going to get healthy,” Barkley said.
The Knicks have been without Julius Randle since Jan. 27 when he dislocated his shoulder against the Heat, and All-Star Jalen Brunson has been in and out of the lineup over the last month.
The Bucks have gone 6-1 since the All-Star break under new head coach Doc Rivers, but with the Celtics in such a good spot at the top, it seemingly would take a lot to knock them down, which harkens back to Barkley’s point.