TNT's Charles Barkley says Pacers will defeat Bucks in playoff series
Charles Barkley has the Milwaukee Bucks going fishing early.
The NBA Hall of Famer certainly didn't pull any punches when asked about the Bucks' chances in a first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers on the TNT Tip-Off Show on Sunday night prior to Game 1, with or without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo.
That's probably good news for fans wearing green in and outside Fiserv Forum as the shooting percentage of Barkley's successful NBA prognostications usually isn't high (consider Sunday night's halftime score).
"They own this team. They don't fear this team, even with Giannis," Barkley said of the Pacers. They (the Bucks) know they can't beat them (Pacers) without Giannis....they can't beat them with Giannis (The Bucks were 1-4 against the Pacers this year). Without Giannis, they should come out and punch this team in the mouth."
Kenny Smith says the Bucks are still 'dangerous' with Lillard
Barkley's partner, Kenny Smith, believes the Bucks are capable of winning the series if the Portland version of Lillard shows up. (Lillard had 35 points in the first half).
"Milwaukee has enough talent to compete with Indiana," Smith said. "This is what Damian Lillard is accustomed to, being the No. 1 option. For a seven game series, he can play well for four games. Indiana plays so fast, you are going to give Lillard a lot of attempts. I think he is going to get more than 25 attempts tonight and that makes Milwaukee dangerous."
Barkley blasts Bucks for the way it handled coaching situation
When asked about Doc Rivers performance since he took over as head coach, Smith thought the Bucks had to reach the NBA Finals for the hire to make sense.
But Barkley says talk of June basketball in Milwaukee is inconceivable.
"They're not a championship contender, let's get that out of the way, Barkley said. They should lose this series."
Barkley also ripped the Bucks for firing former coaches Mike Budenholzer after losing in the playoffs last year and Adrian Griffin after winning 30 of his first 43 games before hiring Rivers.
"The organization screwed this thing up.... this goes up to the top."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Charles Barkley blasts Bucks, picks Pacers to win NBA playoff series
