NBA legend Charles Barkley is ready to crown the New York Knicks the Eastern Conference champions.
The “Inside the NBA” analyst felt so bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers he turned his attention to encouraging Cleveland fans. The Cavs suffered a 121-108 loss to the Knicks in Game 3 of the conference finals on Saturday night in Cleveland.
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Barkley quickly realized his efforts to distract Cleveland fans from the Cavs’ predicament were fruitless.
“I tell you what, Cleveland, we still got the Browns,” Barkley said, per Awful Announcing. “Oh, bad example. … We still got the Guardians. Another bad example. You can’t say Indians anymore. It’s Guardians.”
‘One of the most underrated cities’
Unlike many national media types, Barkley doesn’t usually take easy shots at Cleveland for its struggles in pro sports.
In fact, just four years ago Barkley praised Cleveland on “Inside the NBA.” Also, he is a proponent of all-time NBA leading scorer LeBron James returning to the Cavs to finish his career.
“Cleveland, to me, is one of the most underrated cities in the world,” he said.
But the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer couldn’t resist a sarcastic jab at the northeast Ohio city on Saturday night. The Cavaliers stand on the brink of elimination heading into Game 4 on Monday night.
Obviously, Barkley’s jab at the Browns is fair. Cleveland won a single playoff game since returning to the NFL in 1999. The Browns have not won a division title since 1989. The franchise parted ways with head coach Kevin Stefanski after 3-14 and 5-12 seasons. New head coach Todd Monken is searching for a quarterback, a seemingly unending quest for Cleveland. To be honest, however, the Guardians don’t belong in Barkley’s crosshairs. Though the franchise is still looking for its first world title since 1948, it has enjoyed plenty of recent success. Cleveland won three of the past four AL Central division crowns and sits in first place this season at 31-23. Just 10 years ago, the then-Indians took the Chicago Cubs to extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series. The Cavaliers will try to extend their season at 8 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN and the ESPN app.