Charles Barkley calls out ’embarrassing’ Boston Celtics for devastating Game 4 loss

Charles Barkley feels the Dallas Mavericks could turn the series around.

Charles Barkley calls out ’embarrassing’ Boston Celtics for devastating Game 4 loss

Charles Barkley calls out embarrassing Boston Celtics performance after devastating game 4 loss

The Boston Celtics were supposed to win the NBA title for the 18th time in history. All they had to do was to close out Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Doing so would have completed a famous sweep. Instead, they were blown out by the Dallas Mavericks. It rubbed NBA legend Charles Barkley the wrong way.

The Celtics’ performance did not live up to the first three games of the finals. Barkley was part of the crew GameTime on NBA TV. When they were seated courtside and reviewed the game, the NBA legend coined the performance as an embarrassing one. Moreover, he said it disappointed him.

That was disappointing to me because, they didn't compete tonight. We said, if the Celtics come out jacking up jumpers, going through the motion, Dallas has a chance. That was embarrassing by the Celtics... They came out nonchalant, lackadaisical. If you're the Celtics, that was so unprofessional, the way they played that game tonight.
Charles Barkley via NBA TV
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Charles Barkley suggested that the Boston Celtics took it too easy. They thought the Dallas Mavericks were going to quit on them. Instead, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and their teammates came out guns blazing from the 1st whistle. They ended up having their biggest scoring quarter of the NBA Finals. They continued that pace into the next two quarters and culminated in the 3rd biggest points difference in NBA Finals history.

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Charles Barkley knows that the Boston Celtics did not have the fight in them to at least try and erase the deficit. Instead, they did not compete at all. The contest was nonexistent, and they just conceded defeat in the 4th quarter. Moreover, Barkley made one more claim about the current status of the Celtics.

Charles Barkley believes the Boston Celtics are under stress

While discussing this magnificent win, the crew of NBA TV noticed that the Dallas Mavericks played with a different level of energy today. As such, Barkley believed the Celtics might come under stress if they don’t close the series out.

It's gonna come down to effort and desire. If they play with pace and desperation. Them two guys man, they are tough to handle. Ain't really been a lot of blowouts in these games. Other than Game 1, the game's been close. The Celtics have been put under stress. Now they're under stress.
Charles Barkley via NBA TV

Barkley believes if the Mavericks players can continue with the same energy and desire they showed today, then they could win Game 5. If that happens, the Boston Celtics will be under stress. It is something they have not felt all throughout the playoffs.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see how they handle that stress. In fact, the Hall of Famer said that the Mavericks could turn the NBA Finals on their heads. If that happens, then it will be the 1st time in NBA history that a team has come back from being down 0-3 to win a playoff series. What better way than the NBA Finals to set that record?

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