Getty Ben Simmons (right) drives against Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks
Charles Barkley played eight seasons in Philadelphia and while he did not leave town on the best of terms, he’s since made his peace with and embraced the city. But in the past month or so, he’s not high on the list of NBA analysts among Sixers fans.
That is because, after originally declaring the Sixers the favorites in the East, Barkley has jumped ship and gone with a relative underdog: the Bucks. He reiterated on Saturday before the Sixers took the floor against the Wizards with a 2-0 series lead, that he expects Milwaukee to emerge from the scrum of top Eastern Conference teams to land in the NBA Finals in July, just as he predicted that the Bucks would sweep the Heat in their opening-round series.
The Heat did, in fact, get swept, Milwaukee finishing off the job on Saturday.
(For the record, Barkley also predicted a sweep for the Nets in their series against the Celtics, before the Celtics fought back to win Game 3 on Friday.)
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Charles Barkley calls the Brooklyn Nets “championship or bust.” That being said …
“The Milwaukee Bucks are coming out of the East GUARANTEED!”
😳
Just ahead of the start of the postseason, Barkley appeared on ESPN and made his bold pick. “The Milwaukee Bucks are coming out of the East,” Barkley said, before shouting, “GUAAAAR-ANNN-TEEED.”
Barkley Supports Addition of Jrue Holiday
Give Barkley credit for not going with the favorite, the Brooklyn Nets, in part because he feels that team was slapped together and is under too much championship-or-bust pressure to win it all. The Nets, according to VegasInsider.com, are the favorites to win the NBA title.
The Bucks have moved up to No. 2 on the odds list, at plus-525 (the Nets are plus-220). The Sixers are third on the list, at plus-650.
Barkley gave more context to his decision to back the Bucks, mentioning forward P.J. Tucker, but focusing primarily on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.
The addition of Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker, I just think Giannis has had the quietest MVP year we’ve seen from a player in a long time. His numbers are the same numbers he had the last two years, they’re just holding his playoff fails against him. Giannis has been great all year. I get it held against me that I didn’t win a championship, that’s fair. We’re holding Giannis not making it to the Finals against him. He’s been spectacular all year. But I think the addition of Jrue Holiday, I think that’s gonna be the difference when they play the Brooklyn Nets. I think Milwaukee is coming out of the East.
Barkley: Sixers Were Winners in Not Dealing for James Harden
Back in mid-January, around the time of the trade of James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn, Barkley proclaimed that the Sixers were the team that came out the best—intimating that Philly was better off not trading away Ben Simmons to bring in Harden. Both the Bucks and Sixers were 9-4 at the time.
“The big winner in the sweepstakes with James Harden, I’m going out on a limb right now, OK, the big winner: the Philadelphia 76ers,” Barkley said. “I think it’s going to ease the tension around Ben Simmons. I think the Sixers now are going to be my favorite in the Eastern Conference.”
“The Sixers are going to be my favorite in the Eastern Conference.” 👀
Chuck is all-in on Philly.
That prediction held for the next few months, at least until we hit the stretch run in April. That was when Barkley first began spouting the Bucks as his pick, even after a stretch in which the Bucks lost five of eight games.