Charles Barkley Absolutely Rips Celtics After Terrible First Half Vs. Lakers

Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley had a declaration to make at halftime of Thursday’s Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers game.

“I’ll say this, I’m almost off their bandwagon,” Barkley said.

Barkley is on record believing the Celtics could win an NBA title this season, but he was bewildered by Boston’s performances in two recent home losses to the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers. But it was the Celtics’ abysmal showing in the first half against the Lakers, who were without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that pushed Barkley over the edge.

Barkley absolutely ripped the Celtics for their lack of effort as the shorthanded Lakers held a 60-46 advantage at the break.

“They win games on talent,” Barkley said. “They don’t win on toughness and defense.”

Barkley put Boston’s lackluster play on Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who was named an All-Star alongside Tatum prior to tip-off. Tatum shot a combined 7-for-18 from the floor in the first half for 17 points while posting a minus-32 plus-minus rating together..

With these recent performances, Barkley surely is questioning if the Celtics can win a title if Tatum and Brown don’t play with more toughness.

“The one thing you have to be as a great player, this is on Tatum and Brown, you have to be tough,” Barkley said. “The team is going to play like their best player. Brown and Tatum are great players, but they’re nice guys. I’ve never met a great player who was a really, really nice guy.”