Barkley: Jazz, Lakers best teams in the West

[Tacker]

Two best teams in the West are Lakers and Utah. Who ever wins that series is going to win the west. I pick Utah to win the series. I don't think Lakers can beat Utah without Bynum, but whoever wins that series is the favorite to win the west.
-Charles Barkley

[VoiceofReason]

Can we all, Hornets and Spurs fans, agree that Chuck is sometimes truly full of crap?

[MajorMike]

Grok.

[smeagol]

Turrible . . .

[DarrinS]

Lakers maybe, but not the Jazz.

[Tacker]

Can we all, Hornets and Spurs fans, agree that Chuck is sometimes truly full of crap?

Just because he has an opinion doesn't make him full of crap

[BonnerDynasty]

lol wtf do people care what Charles says? He says 5 different things depending on which media venue he is on ffs.

[NoMoneyDown]

Just because he has an opinion doesn't make him full of crap

He isn't, but his opinions sure are.

[Tacker]

His opinions are full of crap because youre a bias fool. I bet you lakers or jazz fans would consider this a golden opinion.

[timmo]

Charles will change his mind a few more time before the series even starts. Once it starts, he will go with whoever is ahead.

He took the Jazz all the way until they were eliminated last year.

[kskonn]

Yea, barkley will change as the playoffs go, and he will use an excuse like" well 1 week ago the XXXX weren't playing this kind of ball, that changes everything."

I also agree with Tacker, if he said the spurs were the best team then this board would be praising what a great basketball mind Barkley is and how he knows his stuff, just like we did in 05 and 07 when he picked the spurs. My opinion is you either agree with him or you take his opinion with a grain of salt even when he says the spurs are the best.

[Indazone]

heh the Rockets are gonna beatdown the Jazz in their house!

[Tacker]

heh the Rockets are gonna beatdown the Jazz in their house!

false

[hater]

1. Lakers (just because I like to jinx them)
2. Spurs
3. NO
4. Jazz

I don't understand chucks thinking. Everyone brings up that jazz are terrible road team because they are! they are going 6 games vs. the lowly Rockets. come on. what is going on in that big fat head of his?

[Doctor J]

Barkley is Pele of Basketball.

Whichever winner he predicts always loses.

Don't worry, Spurs fans.

He picked up Lakers and Jazz as the West's best

...................which actually means that Spurs will win the West.

[hater]

Barkley is Pele of Basketball.

Whichever winner he predicts always loses.

Don't worry, Spurs fans.

He picked up Lakers and Jazz as the West's bests....

which actually means that Spurs will win the West.

not really, he picked the Spurs in 2005

[kskonn]

and 07.

[Doctor J]

not really, he picked the Spurs in 2005

Yes. I know.

But since last year, he's been all Pele....

[Tacker]

Yes. I know.

But since last year, he's been all Pele....

Youve been proven wrong 2 times already SCRAM!!!

[Agloco]

I should care about what Charles says because?........

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Isn't this quote like 2 weeks old?

[VoiceofReason]

I find Sir Charles very entertaining. But, yeah, he changes with the wind. He picked the Mavs to blow away the Hornets, so . . .

[dbreiden83080]

If Jazz beat Lakers and we beat NO, we will beat Utah again. What do they have this year that makes them so much better than the 5 game drubbing we gave them last year???

[ForeignFan]

As far as I remember he picked several teams last year - did not he even say that the Cavs would cause many problems to the Spurs?

Reminds me a bit of the story about the obstetrician who, when asked "is it going to be a boy or a girl?", says one thing to his patient and writes the opposite in his book - never wrong. Sir B changes his mind so often that somewhat he always ends up being right ...

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Why he so sure Jazz even beat Rockets?

[oboymeetsogirl]

I care about what Sir Charles says because he's usually right.

So here's the way I hear what he's saying: He's simply saying that the Jazz and Lakers are playing really well right now, which they are (the Lakers even better than the Jazz). If, say, the Spurs dispatch the Hornets within five games with their usual efficiency -- while the Jazz and Lakers beat each other to a pulp in a six, seven game series -- it would not surprise me at all to hear Charles say, "I'm changing my mind -- the Spurs are the team to beat." How many times has he done that over the years? I lost count long ago.

In fact, 90% of the time Sir Charles favors the Spurs because he obviously respects Timmy (i.e., "Groundhog" in his parlance), Pop, and the Spurs as a mature, experienced team. Charles simply bases his opinion on observations, and when what he observes changes as teams go deeper into the playoffs, he changes along with that.

[nil.ball]

Neither Utah nor Lakers will play the Spurs. Luis Scola says hi.

[Lakers08Champs]

I think the Lakers and Spurs are two best teams in the west, as a laker fan i gotta pick my team gona win the WEST!! haha :king

[word]

Can we all, Hornets and Spurs fans, agree that Chuck is sometimes truly full of crap?

I like Charles. His appeal is that he's funnier than hell but the guy that knows BB on TNT is the jet. His BB IQ >>> Barkleys. Period.

Sir Charles is a lovable buffoon. And a Spurs favorite I might add for obvious reasons..

GINOBLIIIIII .....

[ducks]

barkley said he would pay to see tp vs paul
he also said he would not pay to see most games

[GSH]

Charles simply bases his opinion on observations, and when what he observes changes as teams go deeper into the playoffs, he changes along with that.

The Spurs had some real problems scoring, especially from outside the paint, in the last part of the season. And they had a lot of games with disaster quarters. Those are going to get harder to overcome, the deeper they go into the playoffs. It's hard to blame Barkley for noticing that. When the Spurs beat the Lakers or Jazz, Barkley won't disrespect them by saying they were lucky. He'll say something like, "Lemme tell you sumthin... them boys ah hard to put away. That's why they the champins."

Manu hasn't been hitting his jumpers, and Finley doesn't seem to be able to create for himself as well as in previous seasons. And you would be hard pressed to point to any consistent 3-point threat from the Spurs in the last 20 games. If any one of those factors shows up, you'll hear Charles saying, "If the Spurs play like that, caint nobody beat em." If the situation changes, why shouldn't he reverse himself?

You have to admit, the Spurs have turned in a number of performances that didn't make them look like the best team in the West. They kept getting the W's though, and ultimately that's what decides.

[dg7md]

Nothing for us is guaranteed. The Hornets, Jazz or Lakers could beat us. I'm not going to let comments, from Charles or not, endanger anything.