Barkley: “Boston Has No Shot At Beating Orlando”
Charles Barkley and Vegas don’t agree about the Boston-Orlando series. The sports books have set the line for Game 1 in favor of the Celtics by 2.5 points. Barkley is setting the Celtics’ odds of winning the series at 0%.
“Boston has no shot at beating Orlando,” said Barkley. “Without Kevin Garnett, (the Celtics) struggled against the Bulls. I don’t think they have a chance and Orlando wins it in 6.”
Even though Ray Allen could explode for 50 points as he did against Chicago, Paul Pierce could torture any one of Orlando’s perimeter defenders, and Rajon Rondo could continue his near triple-double pace, Chuck thinks that the Magic are definitely advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
I wouldn’t be so quick to count Boston out.
While Boston struggled with a talented upstart Chicago team, what’s Orlando’s excuse for struggling with the Sixers? Andre Miller averaged 21.2 points, 6.3 boards and 5.2 assists on 47.5% shooting, numbers far higher than he put up during the regular season. If a 30-year old Miller was capable of doing that to Rafer Alston, what will Rondo do? Hedo Turkoglu faded to black at times, putting up 11.8 points on 36% shooting from the field. And now that Orlando won’t have Courtney Lee in Game 1 (perhaps longer because of the fractured sinus) Hedo will have to get back to producing offensively against the always-tough defense of Pierce.
The “Boston has no shot” sentiment seems a bit strong for me.
Do you agree with Sir Charles?
Source: Celtics Blog
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May 4th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
D.H. says:
I like Boston here. Rondo vs Alston? Seriously . . . Hedo could very well crawl away from Pierce. Howard will own perk and Big Baby, but at least play physical D on him. The big X factor is whether Rashard Lewis shows up. For Orlando to have a chance Rashard has to show up at both ends of the court.
May 4th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
ticktock6 says:
He’s so often wrong that I just laugh at his funny statements but don’t put any stock in his predictions.
How high was he on Utah and New Orleans at the beginning of the season, for example? And even down the stretch, he claimed the Jazz would surge above everyone for the #2 and he’d be right. Yeah, not so much.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Jason says:
When I look at Boston I no front court depth.
Matchup/wise
Alston/Rondo- suprisingly Aslton has matched Rondo’s production head to head for the last couple of season
I am guessing Pietrus will start if Lee can go
Pietrus/Allen- the Celtics have an advantage here but question is how long can Allen play 40 minutes a night.
Pierce/Hedo-Hedo usually gets his and Pierce will be able to score against Hedo. A slight advantage for Boston.
Lewis/Davis-this is a horrible mismatch for Boston. Lewis will be able to drive past Davis or shoot over the top of him.
Howard/Perkins-Perkins is a solid player who fouls a lot. Howard is a very good player had draws a lot of fouls. Once Perkins is on the bench with foul trouble I see the Magic imposing their will on the boards.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Kudabeen says:
If Rashard stays on tilt and plays up to his contract like he did in game 6 vs Sixers Boston can’t match up.
The bad part about Orlando is Hedo will allow Ray Allen to guard him…
May 4th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
fallinup says:
I’ll even 1UP Sir Charles. Orlando in 5.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
rangerjohn says:
i actually agree with barks, i got orlando in 6 as well
May 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
hucklebuck says:
I’m a Paul Pierce fan, and I think they have a chance. The only matchup they will have an advantage with is with Howard. Lewis might have one as well since Baby Davis isn’t gonna go out more than 15ft from the basket.
Other than that, I think the Celtics have the advantage at the point with Rondo vs Alston, Allen vs whoever (MR. Better Basketball JJ Redick), and Pierce vs Hedo.
HOPEFULLY Marbury can anchor in SOME SPRINKLES of his old Coney Island Minnesota/New Jersey/Phoenix game that they need.
Don’t agree with Barkley on this one. Thats “turble”.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
fallinup says:
I really don’t think it’s gonna come down to match ups. It’s all gonna come down to the Celts transition D and Orlando’s transition O. If Orlando hits those treys…no way Boston can keep up the horse race.
Chitown v. Boston was great because they both matched up pretty well physically. Orlando, I think…is faster and more athletic than Boston. And Van Gundy will run run run for the series.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
BERN BROGDEN says:
CELTICS IN 4.
BABY, y’all sleeping. He can step out on Rashard. Or stay home at let the other big follow.
Even if he does inch out, Baby got enough athleticism to keep Rashard in front of him.
Rashard is NOT like that. If his three aint droppin, he WON’T get by BABY all the time. And when does, he damn sure aint gonna finish all the time. Now Rashard’s Mr. Wade?? Please.
PERK aint scared of DWIGHT.
SCAL can defend the 3 AND hit it.
Mikki…alright u got me on him.
PERK AND BABY can hold it down.
Pierce and Ray can hold it down.
RONDO = EXCELLENT FLOOR GENERAL.
BOSTON ‘BOUT TO GET THE BROOM OUT.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
hucklebuck says:
If I can guess Van Gundy’s thought, here is what he’s thinkin-
with no KG, POUND BALL INTO DWIGHT.
this equals-more slowdown, halfcourt offense, less running. Van Gundy is gonna want to take advantage inside, and with no Lee to run out with, it will play in favor of Boston. Notice how the Magic ran WITHOUT Howard in Game 6, but played slower WITH him.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
chee4three says:
Perkin is big, tough, physical enough to slow superman a little bit. They won’t need to double team dwight alot.
Pierce will own turk.
Lewis might give baby problems but baby can help perk rebound vs dwight.
rhondo gonna blow by skip all day.
will Lee out, nobody can keep up with allen.
JJ redick? he is all done.
eddie house will be able to get open more in this series.
Celt in 7.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Bill says:
As long as perks stays on the floor the celts gonna win, he one of the one on one post defenders n dwight has no post moves cept the inconsistent jump hook…celtics never doubled dwight in the past cause everyone knows u stay at home on the shooters against the magic if they ain’t hitting there threes there done
May 4th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
doc says:
im not sold on Orlando.they got 1 big and a bunch of pussies around him.Barkley is wrong more than right so it dosent matter.that series a tossup to me.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Bill says:
As long as perks stays on the floor the celts gonna win, he one of the best one on one post defenders n dwight has no post moves cept the inconsistent jump hook…celtics never doubled dwight in the past cause everyone knows u stay at home on the shooters against the magic if they ain’t hitting there threes there done
May 4th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
dapro says:
Celts in 6
The magic are a preimeter team even with the most athletic big man in the game
The Celts can match up with Howard because of his lack of post moves. Expect to see Davis/SCAL/Walker/Moore combo guard Lewis to throw him off and keep him off balance
May 4th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Chaos says:
boston can win this match up. the orlando backcourt does not match up with boston backcourt and eddie house and ray allen are goin to put them thru a hamster wheel the whole series. big baby isnt as unathletic as you think and if boston is smart they will exploit that match up and feed it into the post because davis is bulky and has some post moves. perk is physical enough to stand with dwight (even tho he will foul out at least 3 games) and skip doesnt have a chance
May 4th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Chaos says:
oh did i mention a guy named Paul Pierce who will thoroughly eviscerate the whole series.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Chaos says:
But the series will go 6 regardless of who wins
May 4th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
knock knoc says:
haha all these celtics fans should know that the bulls have NO D whatsoever and still took them to 7 on great one-on one offense. bostons done
May 4th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
knock knoc says:
haha all these celtics fans should know that the bulls have NO D whatsoever and still took them to 7 on great one-on one offense. bostons done
May 4th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
mules says:
Orlando in 5. But what’s the point really…neither one of these teams is getting by Cleveland anyway.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Kevin says:
What is Orlando’s excuse for struggling with the Sixers? I like how the Bulls are upstarts and the Sixers (who had a better seed) suck. The NBA is about match-ups. Andre Miller is a big, post-up guard who can take advantage of his size against Rafer Alston. Rafer is an excellent defender. Rondo is not going to post Rafer up. He is going to try to beat Rafer with quickness, which is to Rafer’s strength. That match up is closer than people think.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
siree says:
Jason your a dumbass you just made up things that would automatically paint orlando as winning
May 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
LaMont says:
Rondo is as good as he is because of his supporting cast of P-Squared, Ray-Ray and KG but Andre Miller is the better player hands down. That defense from behind that Rondo plays that the announcers were talking about in Game 7 versus the Bulls are fouls. Let Anthony Roberson try that and he’ll foul out early. Stop sleeping on Dre Miller.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
the cynic says:
Celtics are going to be shooting jumpers. Orlando is going to be shooting lay-ups (and wide open treys). Orlando is going to destroy Boston
May 4th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
karizmatic says:
I usually agree with Barkley but I disagree on this point I think Boston can win in six and definitely seven. Orlando has no killer instinct whatsoever. No one on the team is going to do a good job guarding Rondo, Allen or Pierce. Their best defender is Pietrus and he’s probably still going to get abused, and Howard isn’t yet ready to be the unstoppable force he needs to be for Orlando to win. Boston has a really good shot at this one.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Curtis (ain't ridin Lebron's nutz) says:
While I usually don’t agree with Barkley on, well, anything, I think he’s absolutely correct on this one. All one has to do is analyze where Boston was having problems with Chicago to realize that they don’t stand a chance in hell of beating the Magic. For one, Boston has a serious problem guarding shooters on the perimeter that are freed off of picks which is why Salmons and Miller (two average NBA journeymen) looked like freaking superstars against Boston and why Gordon put up numbers well above his season averages (although we all know he’s capable of that anyway). The other issue was that Boston is incapable of matching the athleticism of the young Bulls which allowed guys like Noah and Thomas to out hustle them on the boards. However, it’s not like Boston doesn’t hustle, it’s just that with Garnett Out, they are not nearly big enough, long enough, or athletic enough to match springier opponents. That’s where Dwight comes in; introducing Tyrus Thomas and Jaoquim Noah rolled into one giant muscle-bound athletic 6’11″ freak of nature that quite possible will dunk on everyone except Doc Rivers… although that might happen too when Doc tries to pass out under the rim hoping to catch Dwight’s attention so his team can get a 4 on 5 fast break the other way only to have Dwight smash on him as the ball bounces off his forehead and knocking him out for real! As for Orlando’s shooters, well, do I even have to make the argument that Hedo and Lewis are light-years better than anything Salmons and Miller ever lied about to a drunken chic at bar while using the line “I’m John Salmons/Brad Miller bi*tch!”? What it boils down to is that Orlando has the tools to make four of Boston’s positions stay honest (read that as “play” ) defense while facing a relatively slow-footed Boston defense on the other side of the ball. Boston’s front court is bigger and better than Chicago’s frontcourt and Boston simply will not be able to guard them. Rondo will likely win his battle (points wise) with Alston, but let’s not forget that Alston is a solid defender so whatever Rondo gets, he will have worked for it. Pierce will be reduced to a jump shooter after eating one too many of his shots and, believe me, those shots won’t come from his favorite spot on top of the key. Allen (the series x-factor for Boston) will have to damn near average 40 if this team is going to stand a chance while Perkins (not Big Baby) is going to have to be able to push Dwight away from the post which, even for Perk’s dimensions, I just don’t see happening. The lone bright spots for Boston, when it is all said and done, is that they will know for a fact that Big Baby is a stud (and they’ll have some decisions to make), Rondo is on his way to all-star status (which I admit I was wrong about), Ray Allen is probably done, Perkins is garbage, and Pierce has maybe 2 more good years before he becomes the new age Shaq (meaning he’ll be in obvious decline but won’t recognize it through his “Pierce is the shit” glasses). Now as for the Eastern Conference Finals? I call it for Orlando in six… I’ll explain that rationale later. Regardless though, even if Cleveland comes out of the East, this will be the second year in a row that the MVP’s team gets demolished in the finals as Kobe and crew get redemption. But even if the Lakers don’t end up repping the West, Cleveland is still in for a rude awakening as the top West teams left that will likely go to the final (the Lakers, Nuggets, and Rockets) are all top 15 defensive teams with the Lakers being number 1 and Houston being number 4 (Denver is 15). For those of you the might laugh at my predictions, just take a look and see how Lebron’s team fared against top defensive teams this year. I’ll give you a hint; it ain’t pretty. Oh, and by the way, Orlando is a top ten defensive team too coming in at number 3. For Cleveland’s sake, they’d better hope Denver comes out of the West because that’s the only team they have a chance of beating. And for the those of you that think I am full of sh*t, check back with me after game 6 of the eastern conference finals so I can let the paramedics know not to step on your faces when they show up to pick up YOUR HURT FEELINGS!
May 4th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
BERN BROGDEN says:
I don’t know Curtis. Hedo and Lewis are “lightyears” ahead of Salmons and Miller. Your losing me with your hyperboles.
You discounted RAY and Pierce too much. Pierce in decline??? I don’t know man. Ray is prob done? He just hung 50 sumptin MEANINGFUL points in a PLAYOFF game.
Do we forget that Boston is the champs?
I feel wierd writing this piece. It feels like I’m talking to a Disney homer.
Nothin’ wrong with that. But I saw my SERIOUSLY flawed 6ers squad give you guys unnecessary work.
Boston got STUDS dawg. Orlando got a whole bunch of jump shooters, a talented but kinda raw big guy, and a starting 2gaurd with a broken sinus (never heard of that)…anyways, it’s going to be tough for Orlando home skillet.
Orlando doesn’t have Jameer who brought more than a lil’ to what Skip brings.
Pietrus and Ray. You aint going with Pietrus dawg.
Pierce and Hedo. I’ve seen Pierce MURDER dat bol. Plenty o’ times.
PERK. Dwight might give him work, give him some bench work. But you know, that’s what Scal and them is for.
Rashard is tough and gives you 3′s but c’mon you aint NEVER seen Rashard get it poppin off the dribble. NEVER.
JJ. he gonna give you threes. SO is Ray and House and Scal. Pierce be hittin too.
Anyways, CURTIS, I think some developments will occur this week that will totally prove you’re “FULL OF SH*T.”
May 4th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
QQ says:
FINALLY.
Barkley is a knucklehead, but finally something out of his mouth that I agree with.
Those tired Boston assholes have absolutely no chance against the Magic. Magic in 5.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
QQ says:
@ 27:
Another Magic fan!!!! FINALLY!!!
People like you (or should I say, US) are hard to find these days seeing that everyone seems to hop on the Boston bandwagon.
Let’s say that I am not a Magic fan. Let’s just say I am just a sports fan who loves to watch basketball. I saw the Chicago-Boston series.
I realized some things, like:
- Why is the higher seed struggling against the puny 7th seed?
- and, SURELY, with all the overtimes and the close games, this Boston squad will be very TIRED, which will put them into a disadvantage in the next round.
Then I watched the Magic-76er series.
I thought:
- the Magic are struggling in the first 3 games, getting outplayed by the puny 6th seed. Damn.
- WOW. The Magic are playing great basketball the last 3 games of the series, to close out the series. Their MOMENTUM will surely put them in an advantage in the 2nd round.
Ok, back to being me.LOL
It’s simple fucking logic.
Magic = well-rested, has momentum
Celtics = tired, played up to a 7th game against the lower seed
It’s Magic in 5.
PS: ONE DOWN. Game 1, WIN. See you, haters.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
QQ says:
Just read BROGDEN’s comment:
‘BOSTON ‘BOUT TO GET THE BROOM OUT’.
hmmmm….. LOL!
That is all.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
DanPhresh says:
Rondo is TRASH!! nuff said