Celtics

Charles Barkley said the Celtics-Cavs series will be ‘quick and painless’

"I think it's going to be a gentleman's sweep. This Celtics team, they're on a mission."

Charles Barkley. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

May 8, 2024

Charles Barkley is confident that the Celtics will handle their business and keep their second-round series against the Cavaliers short.

Barkley’s prediction is a “gentleman’s sweep” in favor of the Celtics. Boston is simply the more complete team, Barkley said during TNT’s “Inside the NBA”.

“It’s going to be a series, it’s going to be quick and painless,” Barkley said. “With or without Jarrett Allen, the Celtics are a better team. I think it’s going to be a gentleman’s sweep. This Celtics team, they’re on a mission. They’re tired of going deep in the playoffs or losing in the Finals.”

The Celtics rounded out their roster last summer by adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade. The Celtics depth is one of the reasons for their success, according to Barkley.

“As good as they were, they went out and said ‘we need Jrue Holiday’ and ‘we want Porzingis,” Barkley said. “Brad Stevens got executive of the year. They were like ‘what are we missing?’ We’re missing a point guard and a little depth. Then they went out and had probably the two best moves of the summer.”

“Jrue Holiday, I’ve always said him and Mike Conley are two of the most underrated players I’ve been around in the last 20 years. Porzingis ain’t no No. 3 or 4. You could say 3 or 4 and depending on Jrue Holiday and Derrick White he might be No. 5. There’s no better 3-4-5 in the NBA than him, period.”

But, the Celtics aren’t deep enough to win a title without Porzingis, Barkley said.

Porzingis remains out with a calf strain. He has missed two consecutive playoff games, and isn’t expected to return during this series according to The Boston Globe‘s Adam Himmelsbach.

The Celtics lead the series 1-0 after a 25-point blowout win over Cleveland Tuesday night. Boston has a game at TD Garden set for Thursday night before the series shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4.