Charles Barkley recently spoke up on television about his prediction for the winner of the 2017 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He made this prediction prior to the NBA Finals had begun, the series currently stands at 2-0 to the Warriors headed to the Quicken Loans Arena for games 3 and 4.
Charles Barkley had a legendary career, spending his prime years in the Phoenix Suns jersey and winning the MVP award in 1993. He has turned his career from player to presenter as he now works on TV giving his opinion about the NBA and basketball on a daily basis.
This is just another opinion of his, he spoke about his 2017 NBA Finals prediction.
Charles Barkley picks Cavs in 6
The 2017 Finals series has been the most talked about topic in the NBA recently, and everyone is giving out their Finals predictions. NBA legend, Charles "Chuck" Barkley spoke up about his opinion on what's going to happen, saying: "I got the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the championship. Kyrie Irving and LeBron are going to play better because they're going to play faster. They're in the conversation as the best one on one players in the world. The Warriors are going to want to get up and down, that's going to help Kyrie and LeBron.
"LeBron and KD are going to cancel each other out.
Steph and Kyrie are going to cancel each other out. It's going to come down to these four guys; Draymond and Javale McGee or ZaZa against Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson... I just think the Cavaliers, LeBron is just on a mission, I do, I like the Cavs in 6."
Klay Thompson a struggling X Factor?
According to Barkley, a huge reason the Golden State Warriors may not win the NBA Finals series is the underperforming of the all-star shooting guard, Klay Thompson.
Although he did have a breakout performance in game two of the Finals, he has not been his usual self in the playoffs so far shooting below his normal field goal percentage, scoring fewer points and overall being less productive on the basketball court. Chuck has a theory as to why this has been happening, stating:
"Klay is struggling.
But you know why he is struggling? He's the best two guard in the NBA. The problem is, he don't get the ball anymore... he has become the guy that never gets the ball... He cannot get into a rhythm because of those guys."
Charles could be making a very valid point, the superstars of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry take the majority of the shots, which leaves Klay Thompson with less than he is used to. But either way, Warriors are a brilliant team and play great team basketball, so Thompson will still get some shots for sure.