Charles Barkley criticizes the Celtics without Kristaps Porzingis and doubts their championship credentials in Inside the NBA rant

INSIDE, NBA analyst Charles Barkley is starting to doubt the Boston Celtics’ championship credentials.

The 1993 NBA MVP thinks center Kristaps Porzingis needs to be back on the court if he wants to win his first title since 2008.

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Porzingis, 28, has been sidelined with a calf injury since late April.

Since then, Boston has overcome the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two rounds to set up a showdown with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.

At the same time, the Celtics showed vulnerability, losing a home game in each of their first two series despite facing heavily injured Heat and Cavaliers teams.

In the ECF against Indiana, the C’s came surprisingly close to losing Game 1 and Game 3.

The Pacers led for the final 60 seconds before late mistakes cost them victory in both games.

In Friday’s Game 3, 37-year-old Al Horford came to the Celtics’ rescue, knocking down a career-high seven 3s to keep his team in the game.

Boston’s struggles have Barkley, 61, questioning whether Jayson Tatum and Co. can win it all without Porzingis.

“They need half-court scoring,” Chuck said on Sunday’s Inside the NBA.

“Al [Horford] He made every shot, but let me tell you something: It was the first time I said, ‘I don’t know if they can win the championship.’

“Because all they do is play one-on-one. They have no ball movement.

“They win games based on talent alone and that won’t work against a better team.”

Shaquille O’Neal tried to make it clear that the Celtics’ game plan took them to the brink of the NBA Finals.

But Chuck quickly shot down the suggestion, reminding Shaq that both the Heat and Cavaliers lost their biggest stars in the 2024 postseason series against Boston.

“They haven’t played anyone yet,” Barkley said.

On Sunday, Porzingis was ruled out for Game 4.

The 7-foot-1 center averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocks during the 2023-24 regular season.

Meanwhile, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle suggested his players would come out more motivated than ever heading into Monday’s Game 4.

“When you’re the coach of an NBA team, you tend to get information about things,” Carlisle said before the matchup.

“One thing I heard in the last few minutes is that the league is making logistical plans for the trophy presentation at our stadium tomorrow.

“This is something that I think should make our players’ blood boil and our fans’ blood boil.

“It’s just another layer of motivation to extend the series.”