Which Team Did Charles Barkley Pick to Win The NBA Title?
Barkley joined The Bettor Angle with Kate Constable and Camron Smith to give his take on the NBA's top teams
Kate Constable - Nov 8, 2023, 10:33am EST
The Boston Celtics are off to the hot start many of us expected. They're 5-1 with three double-digit wins and their only loss coming in overtime on the road. This start looks even better considering the big-time changes that Boston made to its roster in the offseason.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens orchestrated a number of trades, saying goodbye to notable names Marcus Smart and Grant Williams, and bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. With Porzingis and Holiday joining Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in the starting lineup, the Celtics have one of the most dangerous starting units in the league. Each player is averaging double-digits thus far and the team's continuity has already caught the eye of someone who knows a thing or two about basketball.
"The Celtics are my pick to win this thing," Hall of Famer Charles Barkley told me on The Bettor Angle, which airs Saturdays from 4-7 pm ET on the BetQL Network, when asked who he liked to win the NBA title.
Boston is currently positioned as the favorite to win the East at +145 and the NBA title at +350. It has been the favorite in the past and fallen short, however, Holiday and Porzingis are likely to be the difference-makers this year.
"The one problem they had the last couple of years, man, Tatum and Brown take awful shots and they make bad basketball decisions down the stretch," said Barkley. "I think having a guy like Jrue Holiday is going to be a great addition to that team because he's a true point guard.
As much as you like Marcus Smart, he wasn't a true point guard and I think that's going to help Brown and Tatum in the long run, especially down the stretch in games having Jrue there."
The 11-time NBA All-Star also told me that he especially loves the Porzingis trade, stating, "There's no team in the league that has a better fourth player than Porzingis. He's going to be the best No. 4 guy in the NBA."
Barkley's thinking goes hand-in-hand with what our BetQL model predicted in terms of Boston's win total prior to the start of the season. BetMGM set the line at 53.5, but our model simulated every game of the season 10,000 times and picked the Celtics to win 57 games.
The only thing that could derail Boston from hitting the over is injuries, but if it's able to stay healthy, Barkley's pick for the Celtics to win it all could become a reality.
The Boston Celtics are off to the hot start many of us expected. They're 5-1 with three double-digit wins and their only loss coming in overtime on the road. This start looks even better considering the big-time changes that Boston made to its roster in the offseason.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens orchestrated a number of trades, saying goodbye to notable names Marcus Smart and Grant Williams, and bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. With Porzingis and Holiday joining Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in the starting lineup, the Celtics have one of the most dangerous starting units in the league. Each player is averaging double-digits thus far and the team's continuity has already caught the eye of someone who knows a thing or two about basketball.
"The Celtics are my pick to win this thing," Hall of Famer Charles Barkley told me on The Bettor Angle, which airs Saturdays from 4-7 pm ET on the BetQL Network, when asked who he liked to win the NBA title.
Boston is currently positioned as the favorite to win the East at +145 and the NBA title at +350. It has been the favorite in the past and fallen short, however, Holiday and Porzingis are likely to be the difference-makers this year.
"The one problem they had the last couple of years, man, Tatum and Brown take awful shots and they make bad basketball decisions down the stretch," said Barkley. "I think having a guy like Jrue Holiday is going to be a great addition to that team because he's a true point guard.
As much as you like Marcus Smart, he wasn't a true point guard and I think that's going to help Brown and Tatum in the long run, especially down the stretch in games having Jrue there."
The 11-time NBA All-Star also told me that he especially loves the Porzingis trade, stating, "There's no team in the league that has a better fourth player than Porzingis. He's going to be the best No. 4 guy in the NBA."
Barkley's thinking goes hand-in-hand with what our BetQL model predicted in terms of Boston's win total prior to the start of the season. BetMGM set the line at 53.5, but our model simulated every game of the season 10,000 times and picked the Celtics to win 57 games.
The only thing that could derail Boston from hitting the over is injuries, but if it's able to stay healthy, Barkley's pick for the Celtics to win it all could become a reality.
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