Charles Barkley has generally been embraced by Boston Celtics followers â at least since he retired and stopped scoring 22.5 points on 53.4 percent shooting against their beloveds.
But he may be rowing against the Green tide when he states his support for the NBA’s onerous second apron. Charles doesn’t believe the collective bargaining clause is the freak summer nor’easter that sent the well-crafted Celtic yacht from its mooring to an uncertain drift.
I like the second apron,” Barkley told Heavy on Celtics. “They put it in so all the stars would stop getting together. I mean, if you’re gonna just make your own little fantasy team, that’s not fair to the league.”
Yeah, Charles, but Brad Stevens — and before him Danny Ainge — put the most recent Celtic editions together mainly through good drafts and shrewd trades. There were no future Hall of Famers conspiring to take their talents to Nantasket Beach.
But after getting jettisoned from the playoffs by New York and with the second apron Sword of Damocles hanging above with its financial and flexibility penalties, the Celts dealt away starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and, on the further advice of the hoop accountants, had to let Al Horford and Luke Kornet leave as free agents.
Charles Barkley Lays the Blame for the Celtics Rebuild on Jayson Tatum’s Injury
While some would see the club building its roster “the right way” and still being penalized, Barkley lays the blame for the changes at the ruptured Achilles’ tendon of Jayson Tatum.
“I don’t really think that’s it,” Charles said of the second apron’s wrath. “I think they realized that without JT they wasn’t going to win the championship, so it’s best to break the team up sooner than later.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with the second apron. They had the apron last year, right? So I just think they realized that they’re going to take a step backwards. JT’s out pretty much the whole year, so they’re not winning a championship next year.
“You’re like, let’s break it up a year early. I don’t think it had anything to do with the second apron, to be honest with you. They’re not going to win a championship next year, with Jayson missing the season or coming back late in the season.”
Barkley Says Kristaps Porzingis Was the Celtics ‘Superpower’
And what if all these signs of Tatum perhaps being ahead of schedule and the possibility that he could be an on-court factor late in the regular season and, should the Celtics qualify, the playoffs?
“Even if he comes back… Listen, the history says if he can come back, youâre not the same guy the first year,” Barkley told Heavy. “And also Jrue Holiday’s a year older. And same thing with Porzingis. He can’t stay healthy. So I don’t think it had anything to do with the apron. I just think they’re like, ‘Hey, you know what, let’s break this thing up sooner than later.’ But that’s just my opinion.
“I think if Tatum hadn’t have got hurt, No. 1, they might have won the championship. But I think if Tatum hadnât have got hurt, I think they would have ran it back one more time with him and Jaylen (Brown).”
The latter point may be valid, but the concept of the Celtics repeating as champions was far from view when they squandered 20-point leads at home in the first two games against the Knicks and were set to go down 3-1 in the series when Tatum was felled.
“I think the injuries to Holiday and Porzingis played a big factor into that,” Barkley said. “It’s because Jrue Holiday’s not the same, and Porzingis was definitely not the same.
“Porzingis, to me, was their superpower. He made them champions.”
Barkley noted the Celtic food chain of the last two years, where “JT and Jaylen are one and two,” then pointed to Porzingis.
“Whether you want to say he’s number three or four, he’s the best three or four in the league — when he was healthy.”
Now Porzingis is in Atlanta, and the Celtics, with Tatum’s injury and the second apron alterations, stand at the confluence of seven roads awaiting their GPS to engage
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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