Barkley is an idiot

[Eja117]

As long as he thinks the Lakers are 6th in the west and the Heat are last in their division I'm fine with it

[guava_wrench]

I think what he is said is reasonable. He is not saying that we are 4 best when healthy. He is talking about how we are constructed and the chances of not being healthy enough by season's end.

The odds of getting injured at by the end of the season are higher than the odds of being injured early on because injuries accumulate. JO and Perk are the only guys who we would expect to be in better shape because they started the season still recovering from surgeries.

I love our team, but not everyone has the same hopeful optimism about their health that I have. I only have the optimism because I don't want the stress of worrying about injuries until they happen.

[mahonedog88]

I remember watching inside in the nba a few weeks ago and he said that Orlando was still the best team in the east.

This was before all of the trades.  Like he said this when they still had Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis.  He neglected to mention that this team was in the midst of losing 5 of 6 and that it was literally the same Magic team who got almost swept by the Celtics last year in the playoffs...the only difference between that team last year and this year before the trades was that they lost Matt Barnes.

So I don't take in much of Charles says, but he is fun to listen to.

[guava_wrench]

I think Barkley is too scatter-shot to take seriously. He tends to say whatever pops into his head at the moment so I don't take it too seriously.

The guy I really love is Ernie Johnson. His chemistry with whoever he is with is incredible. He is very funny and it able to make fun of NBA greats in a way that is playful, but not overly disrespectful. I don't think he gets enough credit for making TNT's coverage the success it has been. He is also great on NBATV.

E.J. is definitely my favorite non-athlete sports TV guy.

[RJ87]

Just a few months ago, he was guaranteeing Cleveland would beat Boston and LBJ would deliver the Cavs their first championship.

Look how that ended.

[tenn_smoothie]

there are a lot of ex-players still connected to the league (coaches, gm's, commentators) who still carry their hate around for the Boston Celtics because of all the pain the Celts have inflicted on them over the years.

the only ones who are honest about are jerry west and billy cunningham, but the rest just take their verbal shots at Boston every chance they get ............. phil jackson from his knick days, pat riley from his laker days as a player and coach, kobe bryant, charles barkley, isiah thomas, jerry reinsdorf & krause from the bulls, wilt (god speed) and of course, one david stern.

just wear it as a badge of honor Celts fans - we are hated because we are the best.

[LooseCannon]

I think Barkley has a lack of respect for Celtics. I usually don't say stuff like that, but he's one guy who's consistently against the Celtics. Especially Pierce I bet if you asked Barkley he'd say he's overrated. Barkley's one guy I will never expect to be in our corner.

I actually think that Barkley seems to mostly respect the Celtics except for Pierce, so his bias is against one player rather than the entire team, for some reason.  I just can't figure out why.

[guava_wrench]

I think Barkley has a lack of respect for Celtics. I usually don't say stuff like that, but he's one guy who's consistently against the Celtics. Especially Pierce I bet if you asked Barkley he'd say he's overrated. Barkley's one guy I will never expect to be in our corner.

I actually think that Barkley seems to mostly respect the Celtics except for Pierce, so his bias is against one player rather than the entire team, for some reason.  I just can't figure out why.

Barkley has no respect for any team really. The reason particular fans get offended is that they only remember when he is putting their team down. They forget how he does the same about every team.

I don't buy the victim feeling here. There are times when Charles thinks we are the greatest. There are times when he isn't impressed. That's just Charles being all over the place.

I don't buy the Pierce bias either. Barkley really didn't pay much attention to Pierce until well into the 2007-2008 season. He seemed to have no idea how long Pierce had been in the league back then. Because of that, he tended to undervalue Pierce. Now he's learned more about Pierce since we get national games now.

I suppose it helps some people feel special if they think everyone is against them so they start creating insidious narratives for announcers.

Barkley's one guy I will never expect to be in our corner.

Then how do you explain earlier in the season when he thought the Celtics were the best team in the league? How do you explain him repeatedly insisting on TNT that the Celtics are hands-down the greatest franchise in NBA history?

Here's a simple explanation. He looked at our team and has reasons for his doubts. He is skeptical that we can hit the playoffs healthy again this year. People don't have to have irrational hate for the Celtics to like other teams better.