A conversation with Charles Barkley can never stay focused on just one subject â and why the hell would you ever want it to?
So after tackling the NBA’s second apron and its effect on the state of the Celtics, the chat veered in several directions. Here are a few of them…
The State of the Eastern Conference: ‘It’s Going to Be Crazy, Charles Barkley Says
“The East is up for grabs,” said Charles. “I mean, it’s going to be crazy. I got no idea who’s going to win the East. I mean, s***, the Sixers, if they could get healthy, they might be the best team in the East. I know the Knicks and Cleveland are probably going to be favored. I think the Hawks got better. But, man, I gotta tell you something; I ain’t got no faith in anybody right now in the East. The Cavs, they’re going to have to prove it before people give them their credit.”
The Knicks appear on paper to be improved with the additions of Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. The question is how the club will react to the coaching change of Mike Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau.
The Mike Brown thing is interesting,” said Barkley. “Thibs? He just was stubborn. I mean, he had the same issues in Minnesota and Chicago. He don’t want to play these guys, and they keep breaking down. But he’s a good coach, man. … The Mike Brown thing’s gonna be interesting.
Charles Barkley on His 76ers
Charles spent the first half of his 16-year career with Philadelphia before four years each in Phoenix and Houston. He maintains an affinity for his initial NBA home.
“My Sixers, can they get healthy? If (Joel) Embiid and Paul George can get healthy, they might be the team to beat in the East,” he said. “That’s what’s crazy.
Listen, man, I got no idea what’s going on with Embiid and Paul George. I’ve been asked that question all summer. I said, ‘Yo, I can’t give y’all no f****** answer. I don’t know who’s going to play.’”
Barkley’s also big on Tyrese Maxey and second-year guard Jared McCain, who will be out a while following thumb surgery.
“It’s a lot of ifs,” said Charles.
Charles Barkley Takes a Trip Down Memory Lane to Philly-Boston Playoff Battles
Some of the more brutal Philly-Boston playoff battles took place before Barkley got to the scene (the Celts beat the Sixers, 4-1, in the conference finals his rookie year), but the rivalry was still very much in the air. And he loved it.
“Yeah, it was great,” Charles said. “That was really intense, man. It was unbelievable.
“I think my rookie year when we played them in the preseason… like, we had been screwing around during the preseason. Then we played the Celtics, and I remember asking Andrew Toney, I said, ‘Yo, man, why is the locker room so quiet?’ He says, ‘We’re playing the Celtics. This is not a regular preseason game.’ So it was always intense when we played the Celtics.
Interestingly — but maybe not surprisingly at all when you consider Charles’ nature — he became buddies with a lot of those Celts. He lives near Kevin McHale in Arizona.
“Oh, I love that guy,” Barkley said. “I love (Larry) Bird, too. I see Bird when we shoot commercials together. He’s a great dude. I saw (Robert) Parish, and he looks great. I mean, I get along with all those guys.”
When I told him McHale had recently gotten left hip replacement, Charles said, “I tell you what, I got two new hips. It’s a game changer. I hope everything went well with him.”
McHale is hoping the surgery will improve his golf game, allowing him to get to his left side and avoid getting stuck on the right.
Charles Barkley’s Take on the Ryder Cup: ‘I Just Felt Bad the Way the United States Fans Acted’
“What else you gonna do when you get old?” asked Barkley. “That’s all we do. We play golf every day.”
Which led to the Ryder Cup.
“The Europeans, they just putted better,” said Charles. “You know, golf is just all about putting. I just felt bad the way the United States fans acted. That was really unnecessary and uncalled for.”
He saw a certain inevitability in the situation at the Bethpage Black course on Long Island.
“Look, if you didn’t think that was going to happen, you’re blind,” Barkley said. “I did a speaking engagement Friday night in New York for a company, and I was taking questions. They were like, ‘What are you thinking about the weekend?’ I says, ‘My only concern — and this was Friday night after the first day — is I hope nothing really bad happens between the European team and the fans.’ This is Friday night with two more days to go. I want to see the United States win, but I’ve got friends on both teams. I said, ‘I know those New Yorkers gonna start getting drunk, and if the United States team is losing, all hell’s gonna break loose.’ And that’s exactly what happened. Like, if you didnât know that was gonna happen, if the United States team was losing, you’re just crazy.’
It’s a small percentage, just like guys who do crazy s*** at NBA games. It’s always a small percentage. They’re just loud.”
Charles Barkley on His New TV Home
Speaking of loud, Barkley said we can expect the same stuff from the Inside the NBA crew with mates Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal when the show moves from TNT to ESPN.
“They said they’re not going to make us throw it to the local affiliates when we’re on ABC, and then they said, when we’re on ESPN, they’re not going to rush us off to go to SportsCenter â which is the only two things we were really concerned with,” he said.
“We always go to 2 in the morning. They said they’re going to give us time, so… I mean, we always do the same thing: we go from 7 to 2 in the morning. We have to do 45 minutes to an hour, which is the best time people love our show. But we were concerned theyâre going to be like, no, you gotta go to SportsCenter or you’ve got to leave when we’re on ABC and go to the local affiliates. That’s the only two things we were concerned with.”
We hope it works out.
“Listen,” said Charles, “it cannot not work out. We’re going to get paid, no matter what.”
Barkley is certainly happy to keep the band together — a band that includes numerous off-camera professionals. But the process of TNT losing the NBA rights package was bothersome.
“You know, they didnât handle it in a good way,” he said. “We had to find out on the internet and s***. The reason I got mad and Ernie got mad is we had to find out on the internet that we didn’t get the deal and find out on the internet that we got traded to ESPN. It’s not our fault they lost the NBA package. That ain’t got nothing to do with me, Ernie, Kenny and Shaq. They lost the package.”
But we kept Charles and friends.
“Hey, man, we’re watching basketball and talking about it,” he said. “We’ve got a great job.
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