Charles Barkley does not think much of the East’s first round games
Charles Barkley has never been one to mince words if he thinks the quality of the NBA isn’t up to standard, and in his mind, it very much wasn’t on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia 76ers opened up a 60-31 lead over the Brooklyn Nets in the first half of Game 5 of their series, while the Toronto Raptors comfortably dispatched the Orlando Magic in a game that they led by 36 points at one point in the fourth quarter. In other words, neither of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference playoff games were remotely competitive, and Barkley was not afraid to say so at halftime of the Philadelphia blowout.
Barkley on Sixers-Nets and Raptors-Magic: “If you’re watching these games, you have no life.” #NBAPlayoffs
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) April 24, 2019
The NBA and TNT executives would probably prefer it if Barkley tried to give viewers a reason to stay tuned in, but competitive basketball was never going to be it. Besides, his honesty is one of the reasons he’s worth watching, and he’s said things like this before and probably will again.