Sometimes, you have to wonder how much Hall of Fame basketball players actually know about the sport they spent their whole careers playing.
That's because Charles Barkley says some really unintelligent things on a regular basis despite having had a tremendous basketball career. Not really sure why that is. Not sure if he does not like the Celtics or if he wants ratings or if he really thinks this way in a true unbiased fashion (assuming it's not the latter point). However, this is what he had to say about a Boston Celtics team who, despite getting off to a slow start, is on pace to win 50 games this season (they're 25-16 through 41 regular season contests).
“They’re not going to win the way they’re currently constructed,” Barkley said. “I don’t know what type of team they are. I really don’t. I don’t think they know who their go-to guys are. … If the Celtics are going to win the Eastern Conference, I think they’ve got to make a trade.”
Yeah. He said they didn't have enough "dirty-work guys". He basically said they doing get enough rebounds and while rebounds are important, so are results and he should realize the Celtics are producing.
The team is 15-5 in their last 20 games despite getting off to a rough start, notably at 9-9 through 18 games. They have been a lot better as of late though and it's hard to imagine them in a similar funk than they were in earlier in the season--especially with a healthy Gordon Hayward.
So yeah, the prediction here is that the Celtics win more than 50 games this regular season and are a threat in the postseason. Barkley does know basketball, but we can respectfully disagree with him here--and hope the C's prove him very wrong.