Charles Barkley suggests radical lineup reshuffle for Celtics

TOPICS:
Charles Barkley suggests radical lineup reshuffle for Celtics

Posted By: jasabacklink March 8, 2024

Celtics

“If they don’t win a championship this year, it would be a total gag job.”

Charles Barkley thinks that Boston still needs to reshuffle its lineup. Jessica Hill / AP Photo

The Celtics currently sit atop the NBA standings with a 48-14 record.

But if ask NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley, Boston still has a few lineup flaws that need to be addressed before the grind of the playoffs begin.

Even though Boston boasts arguably the best starting lineup in the league between Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, Barkley believes that the Celtics’ bench unit could be exposed when the NBA calendar flips to the playoffs.

Barkley’s solution?

“They can solve their bench problems very easily,” Barkley said Thursday during TNT’s pregame show before Boston’s eventual 115-109 road loss to the Nuggets. “I honestly think they should bring Porzingis off the bench.

“Personally, that’s just my personal opinion. You got Jrue Holiday, Tatum and Brown and Derrick White. Jayson and Jaylen gonna get all the shots. If I needed bench scoring, I would bring Porzingis off the bench. He’s gonna finish the game.”

Such a lineup reshuffle would be a sizable departure from Joe Mazzulla’s usual rotations — with Porzingis’ post play and shooting unlocking more avenues for the rest of Boston’s starting lineup to get easy looks and open lanes to the paint.

Porzingis has thrived so far this year as Boston’s No. 3 option behind Tatum and Brown, averaging 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per contest while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.

In terms of additional frontcourt depth, Boston still has Al Horford and Luke Kornet in place — while the Celtics also acquired Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies last month before the trade deadline.

Regardless of whether or not Mazzulla tinkers with his starting lineup between now and the playoffs, Barkley expects the pressure to be on for a Celtics team that has established itself as a title favorite.

“If they don’t win a championship this year, it would be a total gag job, because they’ve got everything,” Barkley said of the Celtics, adding: “You got Brown and Tatum, you’ve got two of the 10 best players in the league, probably. You’ve got a great leader in Jrue Holiday. … Porzingis is probably the best guy who’s not a No. 1 or No. 2 on the team in the NBA. You can throw Derrick White in there, too. I will be shocked if the Celtics don’t win, because they got it all.”