Charles Barkley and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad takes

Like many others, it appears Charles Barkley isn’t too familiar with Terry Rozier and the rest of the Boston Celtics’ playoff roster. In fact, he normally takes a liking into trolling the Celtics, and it appears that’s going to continue into the postseason.

At halftime of Sunday’s Game 1, the TNT analyst picked Milwaukee to beat the injury-plagued Celtics because, “They’re just better with all the injuries.” “They’re just going to beat ‘em,” said Barkley. “What’s interesting about Boston is those players that guys talk about who are good players — Horford, Brown, and Tatum — they have to cook their own meals now, Ernie,” he said. “It ain’t the same when you have a Kyrie out there or a Gordon Hayward, who hasn’t been there. People don’t understand everybody can’t just get the ball and say, ‘Score.’”

Barkley went on to troll Al Horford, saying that, “When (he) was averaging his numbers, they made (him) retire,” Barkley said. Here’s the full segment:

If my calculations are correct, I’d say that take didn’t age very well. Just a few hours later the Celtics had won Game 1, thanks to strong performances from Rozier, Horford, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. All four players scored in double figures on Sunday.

Fast forward to Tuesday, and we come to find out that good ole Chuck still hadn’t learned his lesson.

Barkley stated that if the Celtics didn’t get 20 points and 10 rebounds from Horford, they would lose Game 2. Wellll, that statement was quickly proven untrue as well. The Celtics all-star big man finished with 16 and 5 in a 14-point victory.

The purpose of this isn’t solely to rag on Barkley, it’s also an appreciation post for the core group of guys that have led the Celtics post-injuries. Horford is one of the most under-appreciated bigs in the NBA, and what he’s doing against Giannis Antetokounmpo on the defensive end should not go unnoticed. Tatum and Brown have played like playoff vets over the last two games, and even Shane Larkin is out there making an impact on both sides of the floor. And how can one forget Scary Terry? Rozier is playing so well that he’s causing established professionals to revert to overused, petty responses. It’s a glorious thing to watch, and it’s even better that they’re proving Charles Barkley wrong along the way.

So Chuck, I suggest that you use caution when talking about the 2017-18 Boston Celtics, they seem to enjoy proving doubters wrong.