NBA legend Charles Barkley is a Philadelphia 76ers man at heart. That’s the team that drafted him and where he played with Moses Malone and Julius Erving, who became Barkley’s mentors. But Barkley has been skeptical about the big Sixers James Harden trade since it went down, and while he doesn’t knock Harden’s skills or talent, Barkley wonders if the “fit” is a good one for Joel Embiid and the Sixers.
Now it’s playoff time, and the world is about to find out. Barkley say he’s “worried about my Sixers against the Raptors” and he’s got more than just Harden’s fit to justify his concerns. Sixers star defender Matisse Thybulle will be ineligible to play in Canada due to his current vaccination status, putting even more pressure on Harden and company.
Barkley also says the 76ers third scoring option Tobias Harris needs to return to pre-Harden form, a notion expressed by fellow commentator Shaquille O’Neal simply: “Tobias needs to get back to where he was before James got there.”
But Barkley’s worries go beyond Toronto, and even beyond this year. “There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on James Harden,” Barkley says. “If James falls flat, man, this franchise, I don’t think they will ever recover, to be honest with you. Because they got this year and next year with James, and then he’ll be past his prime.”
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