NBA – After Game 4, Charles Barkley’s radical opinion: “They’re in trouble”

Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif

A consultant for NBA TV during the NBA Finals, Charles Barkley was in Indianapolis for Friday’s Game 4 between the Pacers and Thunder. His analysis of OKC’s come-from-behind victory was straightforward.

In a few months’ time, he’ll be holding another microphone in the same circumstances. After years on TNT, Charles Barkley will join the ESPN analyst cast next year. Not that he’s very proud of this, as he would have preferred to remain loyal to his long-standing employer. In the meantime, however, it was on NBA TV that he appeared in the last few hours and made his point.

Charged with deciphering the NBA Finals for the league’s network, the mythical interior was at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this Friday, for Game 4 between Indiana and Oklahoma City. He witnessed the Thunder’s hard-fought 111-104 victory, despite trailing for much of the game. And according to him, this scenario could have a huge impact on the rest of the series.

Charles Barkley fatalistic about the Pacers

As required by his position, Barkley drew his conclusions once Game 4 was over and is now giving the Pacers a hard time:

Charles Barkley: Even before tonight, I thought this game was very important for both teams. And now I think the Pacers are in trouble.

When your opponent is on the ropes like OKC was, you have to finish the job. If you find yourself at 3-1, you’re in real trouble. But now, they’re going to have to go back to Oklahoma City, facing the best team in the league, with a better roster than theirs. Plus, the Thunder are back to using their core five, so their automatisms will be even better next game.

Faced with OKC’s renewed form, which he has been able to observe at close quarters, Sir Charles has even gone so far as to consider the fate of these Finals as already sealed:

Charles Barkley: They have realized that they need to use their bench more. They went back to the recipe that got them to the NBA Finals. They said to themselves, “We’re going to play with two big men again and we’re going to dominate them inside the way we know how.” And now they’re going back to Oklahoma City with the momentum in their favor. I think that’s it for this series.

However, let’s be careful not to get too carried away and condemn the Pacers, who are more dangerous than ever when their backs are against the wall.