Charles Barkley sent a warning to the Celtics in the midst of their lackluster performance in Thursday’s 118-109 loss to the Knicks at TD Garden in Boston.
The Basketball Hall of Famer took aim at Boston stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown during the halftime show on “NBA on TNT” for “half-assing” it in the first half and explained why the Celtics (62-18) shouldn’t shut down it early despite having the league’s best record entering the playoffs, which begin April 20.
“Shaq asked me earlier if Tatum and Brown should play. If they’re going to play like that, they shouldn’t play,” Barkley said to host Ernie Johnson.
Barkley recalled when his 1992-93 Phoenix Suns finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record.
“The year we made it to the finals, we had the best record in the NBA and we shut it down the last two weeks of the season,” Barkley said. “It took us two rounds of the playoffs to get it back.
“We lost the first two games at home to the Lakers. I’ve always said to myself, and it had nothing to do with us losing to the Bulls in the finals — but I’m saying, I regret it to this day,” Barkley said. “Like, man, you play ’til the end of the season, if you’re going to play.
“But if you’re going to go out there and half-ass it like they did in Milwaukee the other night [a 104-91 loss on April 9], when they didn’t shoot a free throw. They went an entire game without shooting a free throw.
“And then when they come out tonight and they’re just kind of going through the motions. I know they’re going to finish with the best record, but, man, you can’t turn it off and turn it on again.”
The Celtics are looking ahead to the playoffs after they secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference — and home-court advantage throughout the entire postseason — in a dominant win, 135-100, over the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 3.
Barkley wasn’t pleased with Boston’s first-half performance, and issued his rant right after Tatum didn’t guard Knicks guard OG Anunoby, who hit a corner three before the halftime buzzer to extend New York’s lead.
The Celtics’ lack of defensive effort was on full display, as the Knicks held a 52-36 edge on the glass.
Tatum and Brown combined for 33 points, Sam Hauser added 15 and Payton Pritchard had 16 points off the bench.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters and opened the fourth quarter with reserves.
“We got out-toughed the last two games and haven’t played to our standard,” Brown said, referring to the their blowout loss to the Bucks and Thursday’s defeat. “The game has shifted and it’s going to shift even more in the playoffs.”
Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson scored 39 points in three quarters to help the Knicks push for the conference’s No. 2 seed, while Anuoby, who was traded to the Knicks in late December, had 12 points.
The Knicks host the Nets on Friday night, while the Celtics face the Hornets at TD Garden in Boston.
