Charles Barkley Makes Bold Statement About Boston Celtics

Charles Barkley spoke about the Boston Celtics after Game 3.

Unknown date 1996; Phoenix, AZ, USA; FILE PHOTO; Phoenix Suns forward Charles Barkley (34) in action against the Seattle Supersonics at America West Arena. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday evening, the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers by a score of 114-111 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers had been playing without All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and led by as many as 18 points, but the Celtics were able to win the fourth quarter 33-21. 

After the game, NBA legend (and Basketball Hall of Famer) Charles Barkley spoke about the Celtics (h/t the NBA on TNT).

Barkley On The Celtics: "I picked them to win the championship. Last night, I was saying they can't win the championship without Porzingis."

“[Last night] was the first time I said, 'I don’t know if they can win the championship.' … They’ve got no ball movement… they win games strictly on talent and that’s not going to work against a better team.”

Chuck on the Boston Celtics 👀 pic.twitter.com/sQMoC40zIU

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2024

Kristaps Porzingis has missed each of the previous nine games, and has been unable to play since the first round.

He is in his first year with the Celtics and finished the regular season with averages of 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocks per contest while shooting 51.6% from the field and 37.5% from the three-point range.

Apr 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) controls the ball while Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) defends during the first half in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

So far, the Celtics have done well without him, but as Barkley notes, once they are in the Finals, his absence could become a bigger problem.

Game 4 of the series will be on Monday evening in Indiana.

Whoever wins the series will advance to the NBA Finals and face off against either the Dallas Mavericks or the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Derrick White on re-integrating Kristaps Porzingis:

“He’s just going to come in and do what he does… he’s just going to come and bring that extra layer that we don’t have without him.” pic.twitter.com/TS8QtwGANq

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) May 26, 2024

The Celtics are in the Conference Finals for the third year in a row and sixth time in the previous eight seasons.

Porzingis has also spent time with the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks over nine seasons.