Charles Barkley might not have seen it if he didn't have to.
The TNT analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer couldn't find a compelling reason to draw fans to Thursday night's Bulls-Raptors matchup.
“Hey, I know the Bulls and Raptors won, but just watch it!” Barkley said as the game began in Toronto.
The team held out until Chicago defeated Toronto 116-110, but they didn't benefit much from the two teams below .500, connecting on only 3 of 13 shots to start the game, and the point difference after that. It was 8. Play time is 4 minutes.
Barkley and his NBA on TNT friends have made no secret of their feelings about the series of games over the past few weeks.
On January 11th, the network suffered a blowout loss as the Bucks defeated the Celtics 135-102 in the third quarter.
“So this game is clearly out of control,” studio host Ernie Johnson said as he tried to move on to another game. “100-62 is the score for Milwaukee. The Celtics are resting their remaining starters the rest of the night, so we're thinking, let's see what else is going on in the league.”
The plan, which seemed to be going to a Thunder vs. Trail Blazers matchup, didn't quite work out either.
“By the way, Oklahoma City leads by 36 points at the half, so we're not going there,” Johnson said with a laugh.
Attempts to move the game to a Knicks-Mavericks game (47-28 at the time) didn't fit the bill.
In the end, the game went back to Bucks vs. Celtics.
“Thank you to Ernie Johnson for showing us around the league, if only to have us here on TNT,” one of the broadcasters said. “Ernie needs a break.”
It appears he's not the only one on the committee who needs a break in the NBA.
