The Milwaukee Bucks put together an impressive Game 4 victory in Boston and, since a disappointing start to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Mike Budenholzer’s team has quieted doubters with improved play. In the immediate aftermath of a 12-point win to take a 3-1 series lead, Milwaukee found itself with a (very) famous advocate, with TNT’s Charles Barkley loudly proclaiming that the Bucks “are going to win the world championship.”
"The @Bucks are going to win the world championship."
Sir Charles has spoken. 🏆👀 pic.twitter.com/R8hXQN9nYJ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 7, 2019
Of course, it has to be noted that Barkley likes to make bold stances and, as you can hear in the clip above, he predicted that the Portland Trail Blazers would represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, even with the Golden State Warriors still alive and kicking. Still, this was definitive from Barkley and, in some ways, it isn’t a crazy thought.
After all, the Bucks were pretty easily the best team in the NBA during the regular season, racking up 60 wins with a league-leading net rating and dominant units on both ends of the floor. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo has played at an MVP level from wire to wire and it isn’t wild to say that he would be able to go toe-to-toe with any player in the league today.
The Bucks entered Monday evening as the team with the second-best betting odds to win the title and, frankly, that seems right. Barkley isn’t one to shy away from a blazing opinion, though, and he laid this one out with perfect clarity.
