“If they don’t win a championship this year, it will be a complete joke.”
The Celtics presently lead the NBA rankings with a 48-14 record.
However, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley believes Boston still has some lineup issues that must be addressed before the playoff grind begins.
Even though Boston has probably the greatest starting lineup in the league with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, Barkley believes the Celtics’ bench unit will be exposed when the NBA calendar swings to the playoffs.
Barkley’s solution?
“They can solve their bench problems very easily,” Barkley remarked Thursday on TNT’s pregame broadcast, before of Boston’s eventual 115-109 road loss to the Nuggets. “I honestly believe they should bring Porzingis off the bench.
“That is my personal opinion. You have Jrue Holiday, Tatum, Brown, and Derrick White. Jayson and Jaylen will get all the shots. If I needed bench scoring, I’d pull Porzingis off the bench. “He’ll finish the game.”
Such a lineup change would be a significant departure from Joe Mazzulla’s typical rotations, with Porzingis’ post play and shooting opening up more opportunities for the rest of Boston’s starting lineup to obtain easy looks and open lanes to the paint.
Porzingis has thrived this season as Boston’s third option behind Tatum and Brown, averaging 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 52.5% from the field.
In terms of frontcourt depth, Boston still has Al Horford and Luke Kornet, and the Celtics acquired Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies last month before the trade deadline.
Whether or not Mazzulla changes his starting lineup between now and the playoffs, Barkley expects the pressure to be on a Celtics club that has established itself as a title contender.
“If they don’t win a championship this year, it would be a huge joke, because they’ve got everything,” Barkley said of the Celtics, adding, “You got Brown and Tatum, you’ve got two of the league’s top ten players, definitely. Jrue Holiday is an excellent team leader. Porzingis is perhaps the best player in the NBA who isn’t the number one or number two on the squad. You can also include Derrick White. I’d be stunned if the Celtics don’t win, considering they got it all.
