NBA: Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley blast 'not championship ready' Boston Celtics for loss to LA Lakers

Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were both dismissive of the Boston Celtics after their 115-104 defeat to the LA Lakers on Thursday evening.

The Celtics have been one of the form teams of the current NBA season and - on paper - were favourites to beat the struggling Lakers.

Those odds only grew in their favour as the Lakers were unable to call upon either Anthony Davis or LeBron James, two of their most consistent performers, but instead they slumped to a defeat that had both O'Neal and Barkley questioning their trophy-winning credentials.

Barkley referenced the Celtics' 115-96 defeat to the LA Clippers last week, highlighting how Paul George stepped up for the Clippers, as he urged Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to toughen up.

Speaking to TNT Sports, NBA legend Barkley said: “I’m almost off their bandwagon. I don’t know if they can [win the championship], and I’ll tell you why. I’ve watched them twice against elite teams in the last two weeks.

“This thing tonight shows me. Two weeks ago, I’m going to watch them play the Denver Nuggets. They went and spanked them - by two. The [LA] Clippers come into town, and I want to see them, because they're the two best teams in the West.

"And Tyronn Lue [head coach of the Clippers] said something interesting, he said: ‘Paul George was not going to play tonight, but he wanted to send the Celtics a message in case we played them in the finals’ - and they stomped them.

“Now I’m looking at them tonight. They win games on talent, they don’t win on toughness and defence. The one thing you have to be as a great player - and this is on Tatum and Brown - you have to be tough. The team is going to play like their best player.

“Brown and Tatum are great players, but they’re nice guys. I’ve never met a great player who was a really, really nice guy. Now you can be great and have success, but unless Brown and Tatum pick it up from a toughness standpoint.

“Tonight, this game should be over. If they were really tough mentally - 'guys, there’s no LeBron, there’s no AD, let’s not give these guys hope' - and now they’re down and getting stomped.”

O’Neal, who was one of the finest players of his era and also dominated the sport at the Lakers as well as in a spell at the Miami Heat, and also played his final season with the Celtics, felt similarly.

He said: “I agree with Kenny [Smith] and I agree with Chuck. I remember [former Lakers coach] Phil Jackson coming to the locker room saying, ‘Don’t let the first place fool you, you’re still not ready for a championship.’

“That’s what I feel about Boston. Without LeBron and AD, these guys are supposed to be up by 30, but you’re playing down to your competition, you’re not playing with that killer instinct.

“You’re loosey-goosey with the ball, and the Lakers guys who don’t get to play a lot - and they play control ball. Chuck made a great point earlier, they’re playing faster, [they] don’t have to give the ball to LeBron and watch him dribble, and throw it to AD. [They] get their chance to play.

“And again, when they don’t have that mental focus like Kenny was talking about, like Austin Reeves, remember we’re all NBA players and we all can play. When guys get the chance to go out and play they’re not going to let you embarrass [them], to beat them.

“When you have that championship focus and mentality, it doesn’t matter who’s on the court, we have to beat you. This team that’s supposed to beat that team, they’re not championship ready.”

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