Charles Barkley remains certain that his prediction regarding the Boston Celtics will come true. He does, however, have some sympathy for Kyrie Irving. Chuck sends out his own brand of tough love to Kyrie during his latest slump. On SI Media’s podcast, he discussed the particular pressure Irving is under while playing Robin.
Irving’s current trend calls into question his long-term prospects. After three finals appearances, he won his sole championship in 2016 alongside LeBron James. Since his partnership with Bron ended, he’s only endured lows while bouncing from team to team. Things are now looking bright for him now that he has a solid backcourt teammate in Luka Doncic. But that is the distinction between Kyrie and Luka, according to Sir Charles.
“I think you know the way it works most of time you get one you kind of a made man,” Barkley stated to Traina. In case you haven’t kept up with your mafia jargon, a’made man’ is someone who has earned his stripes and is now a fully initiated member of the organization. That ring he got with LeBron already cemented Kyrie’s reputation.
However, Chuck says, “I think it’d be a tremendous amount of pressure if you want to look like that on Luca cuz he’s been a great, great player for a long time and this is obviously his best chance, probably his best chance of winning.” He continued by saying, “The way this thing works, if you get one you’re kind of a made man, you’re kind of like in a mob.” In addition to comparing the NBA to the mafia, Barkley used an extreme metaphor to describe reality for Doncic and Irving.