Charles Barkley went in on the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
The Sixers visited the Milwaukee Bucks for the first half of TNT’s doubleheader. Speaking ahead of the game on “Inside the NBA”, Barkley ripped his former team for being soft and mentally weak.
“I think they are the softest, mentally weakest team that had a bunch of talent,” Barkley said. “They are the Cleveland Browns of the NBA. They have a lot of talent, and they talk the talk, and that’s it.
“They just talk. They are weak mentally and physically.”
Prior to the season, Barkley picked the Sixers to make the Finals and now believes he got caught up in hype. At the center of his argument that the team is mentally weak is Philly’s 9-18 road record compared to their 22-2 home record. He thinks it’s much easier to win when you have the adulation and support from the home crowd but much tougher when you’re not at home, and the poor road record shows the 76ers are weak.
Barkley isn’t the only one calling the team soft; Ben Simmons said the same thing after his team’s blowout loss to the Heat this week.
Philly has been disappointing so far, but they picked up a few players from the Warriors in a trade that they’re hoping can solidify their team. They don’t seem to be in the same class as Milwaukee though, that’s for sure.
