Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Charles Barkley minced no words when he called the current NBA product an embarrassment on ESPN 1000’s Waddle and Silvy radio show Tuesday in Chicago.
Check what Chuck had to say after the jump & let us know what you think…Do you agree with him?!
“As an NBA fan I want to apologize to the fans,” Barkley said during his on-air interview transcribed bySports Radio Interviews. “I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now. I’m a fan first and foremost; watching the NBA right now, I’m embarrassed about the product we’re putting out there right now. It’s no fun for me to watch these games. I feel bad for the fans.”
Barkley, an 11-time NBA All-Star, praised the area’s local team— the Chicago Bulls — and its star point guard, reigning MVP Derrick Rose. Barkley also insisted that the Bulls are one of only a handful of entertaining teams in the NBA.
“There are probably 10 teams worth watching on a nightly basis,” Barkley said. “They have all these built in excuses about it’s the lockout. Let me tell you something: If these teams played once a week, they would still suck. You watch one of these teams, and if they rested for a week they would still suck.”
The 1993 NBA MVP insists the Bulls and the Miami Heat are far superior to anyone in the Eastern Conference. In the West, he singles out the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder as “so far ahead of everybody it’s scary.” Barkley also offers some faint praise to up-and-coming teams, the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, currently thefourth- and fifth-best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Barkley, who says he is spending his time watching two to three college basketball games a day to prepare for his role as an analyst for CBS’ and Turner Sports’ coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, says Bulls fans are blessed to have Rose in Chicago. The Bulls visit the Atlantic-Division leading 76ers Wednesday night.
Barkley also blasted ESPN’s Skip Bayless for criticizing Rose after he missed a couple of fourth-quarter free throws inSunday’s 97-93 loss to the Heat.
“Anybody who goes after Derrick Rose is just an idiot,” Barkley said. “First of all, I think Skip Bayless is the biggest punk in the world. How can you go after Derrick Rose?
“He is the reigning MVP. The Bulls have the first or second best record in the NBA. I don’t understand? Those are the first two free throws he missed all year in the fourth quarter.”
Listen to Barkley on 1000 ESPN Chicago here.
WRITTEN BY Ellen J. Horrow, USA TODAYÂ & FULL STORY HERE
