Charles Barkley Suggests Lineup Change for Celtics to Prevent ‘Ultimate Gag-Job’

The Boston Celtics just became the first team to clinch a playoff berth ahead of the postseason. With a 48-13 overall record, the Celtics are currently at the top of the league heading into the coming playoffs. But Charles Barkley believes if the Celtics don’t win a championship this year, it will have all gone to waste. He even gave his insight on what Boston should do to avoid the ‘ultimate gag-job.’

The Inside the NBA crew went on to talk about the Boston Celtics and their chances of winning it all this year. That is when Charles Barkley gave his two cents on what the Celtics should do if they hope to win a championship this summer.

“If [the Celtics] don’t win a championship this year it would be a total gag job because they’ve got everything.”

 

Ernie Johnson brought up the team’s bench troubles as a reaction to ‘the Chuckster’s bold claim. But Barkley promptly retorted by saying that rotations in the postseason tend to get shorter anyway, so bench players missing wasn’t a valid excuse.

Charles Barkley praised the Celtics starters, claiming how good Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been so far this season. He even credited Jrue Holiday for being an excellent team leader and he brought up their sixth man in Kristaps Porzingis as well.

When Barkley brought up the sixth man, Ernie Johnson mistook it for Derrick White. However, Barkley mentioned Kristaps Porzingis as the sixth man as his way of saying that the Celtics should move him to the bench. That said, Sir Charles did not suggest bringing Porzingis off the bench due to any fault in his game.

But the reason behind that was that the Celtics already have enough firepower in their starting lineup. And since Ernie brought up how Boston had bench troubles, Barkley’s suggestion of bringing the Latvian star off the bench was meant to fix whatever problems the team had with their second unit.

The Hall of Famer even made the same point about the Suns bringing Bradley Beal off the bench since the Suns starters already had enough stars to score the ball with ease. That said, could this solution really work for the Boston Celtics? 

Charles Barkley’s solution for Celtics’ bench troubles

Ernie Johnson’s concern for the Boston Celtics bench may not be entirely accurate. The team’s bench has had the highest net rating so far in the entire league. 

Given that fact, Charles Barkley’s suggestion to bring Kristaps Porzingis off the bench may be easier said than done. After all, not only is ‘KP’ a proven All-Star and scorer but given that the team seems to have already hit upon a winning formula, also needs to be considered. 

While Ernie Johnson may be somewhat right when it came to the bench’s depth, it is the very same starting lineup for the Celtics that often makes up for any disparity during the game. That said, repeating the same thing in the postseason will turn out to be a challenge for Boston. Boston fans will hope the team is already aware of this, and is ready to make adjustments on the fly in the postseason.