Charles Barkley is not on the Nets‘ bandwagon.
The TNT analyst laughed off the possibility Brooklyn can upset the Celtics in the Eastern Conference first round, giving the Nets little chance to beat Boston.
“I know they can’t beat the Celtics now,” Barkley said, via The New York Post. “All these fools on these other morning talk shows can let this ship sail. [Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving] played great, great and they barely beat a mediocre Cavs team.”
Durant and Irving combined for 59 points in the Nets’ play-in tournament win over Cleveland to clinch the 7-seed. The Nets beat the Celtics in the first round last season. But Boston has been the best team in the conference during the second half of the season and presents matchup issues.
The Celtics rejiggered the roster and it’s working. Bringing back old mainstays like Al Horford and Daniel Theis brought an identity back into the building. Check that, Horford and Theis helped re-establish an identity, but this team is all about its top three — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.
