The Milwaukee Bucks just hosted the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum, and the outing was nothing short of an embarrassment for Boston. The Celtics, who were coming off an overtime win over Minnesota, did not look ready for Giannis and the Bucks. After the game, The TNT crew dived into a deep discussion on Boston’s performance in the humiliating 33-point loss.
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Both Shaq and Kenny thought that Tatum and Brown should have played the entire game, even if the game was already out of hand. However, Charles Barkley, on the other hand, didn’t quite see eye to eye with the rest of the panel. Barkley stood firmly with Tatum and Co., giving them a free pass for last night’s blowout.
Sir Charles even doubled down on his Celtics, telling his colleagues, ” I told you, I think the Celtics are the best team in the East by far. I love the trade that the Knicks made, but I still think they need one more to catch up with the Celtics…to me, the wild card is going to be my ’76ers.”
This take from Charles Barkley is not surprising by any means. With a 26-9 record, the Boston Celtics is the best team in the NBA. The Chuckster has been confident in the Celtics for a long time now. One bad game is not enough to breach that trust, especially if it’s a tough road game against the Bucks.
Further down the show, Barkley even provided his reasoning for giving Boston the free pass. According to Barkley, Boston was coming off a grueling game against the Wolves, and in such a case it’s not fair to expect the stars to perform at a high level.
The Celtics have been excellent defensively this season. The addition of Jrue Holiday last year, who is arguably the best defensive guard in the league, has elevated them to another level. Even role players like Derrick White are playing at an All-Star level for Boston.
Jayson Tatum isn’t a fan of the Schedule
Playing an 82-game season in and of itself is a Superhuman feat. But what makes things worse are ‘back-to-backs’. The NBA calendar is something that has been criticized by many, and Jayson Tatum just got added to the list. After recently putting away Anthony Edwards and the Wolves in an overtime thriller, Boston had to face a fierce opponent in Milwaukee.
After the game against the Wolves, Tatum jokingly told the press that, “I read somewhere that we’ve got the easiest schedule remaining. I don’t know when that sh*t’s gonna start.”
Facing the Wolves and the Bucks back-to-back is no joke. Not only are the Wolves the number one team in the West, the Bucks are a formidable force in the East and they have made their intentions of taking the first seed very public.
After blowing out the Celtics at home, Giannis had a slightly different take than Charles about their win. Talking to the press after the game, Giannis said, “I feel like the team after this win, I feel like the team came together, I feel like our chemistry is better now, I feel like we needed this, I think we believe in one another now and hopefully it can carry over..”
With the West looking way more fierce than the East, it would be interesting to see if the Bucks can maintain this chemistry, and even manage to edge out Boston. As for Boston, it’s fair to say that their stars were gassed before the contest had even started.
