Charles Barkley snubs Celtics - says Cavaliers and Raptors best in East

NBA analyst, Charles Barkley, is known for being outspoken on any and all subjects. When mentioning his views of the two best teams in each Conference, he avoided including the Boston Celtics in his discussion. Here is Boston.Com's Hayden Bird on Sir Charles' comments:

“It’s a four-team race right now,” Barkley told The Boston Globe. “I think Toronto and Cleveland are the two best teams in the East. And I think in the West, it’s the Rockets and the Warriors. With what the Rockets have done, they could be threats, and the Cavs are right there in that conversation because they got LeBron [James], who can dominate four out of seven games.”

The Celtics currently hold the NBA's fourth-best record and are ranked second in the East behind Toronto. During Barkley's broadcast, he was euphoric about the fortunes of the Cavaliers after a few critical trades prior to the deadline. Cleveland is now in third place in the East behind Boston, and their trades, although admittedly beneficial to the Cavaliers, need time to determine if they will boost Cleveland past Boston in the standings. Sir Charles eating his words later in the season should produce no further weight gain. They contain zero calories, and hopefully, no legitimate prophetic content.

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Photo via Brian Snyder/Reuters