The New York Knicks are up 2-0 on the defending champions and favorites to win it all in 2025, the Boston Celtics. After being down by 20 points in Games 1 and 2, the Knicks made impressive comebacks in both contests to head back to New York with only two more wins to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000.

The Knicks have a golden opportunity to close things out in front of their home crowd, but it won’t be easy, as the Celtics have a tremendous road record at 33-8. It appears like all the pressure has shifted to Boston, and one could argue that it was always there, as they are the favorites to win it all.

Game 3 is undoubtedly a must-win for the Celtics, but if you ask the NBA Hall of Famer and legend Charles Barkley about it, he doesn’t see it that way. On NBA on TNT, Barkley said that he believes Game 3 is a must-win for the Knicks, not the Celtics.

“I’m one of the few people in the world who have been in this situation twice,” Barkley said. “… This gon’ sound stupid. Game 3 is a must-win for the Knicks, ’cause Boston’s got a better team,” said Barkley.

His colleague and fellow Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal, shared the same sentiment. O’Neal mentioned how the Knicks winning Game 3 would put some serious pressure on Boston, as no team has ever come back down 0-3 in a series in the NBA.

Barkley went on to prove his point by bringing up his experience in the 1993 playoffs with the Phoenix Suns, when his team trailed 0-2 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. Barkley and the Suns ended up winning the series.

The 62-year-old has a point, especially with Boston being the favorite in this series. No one expected the Celtics to be down 0-2, especially with the first two games at home. However, they are far from finished in this series.

They have all the tools they need to not only come back from this series but still win it all and become the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champions. According to BetMGM, the Celtics are still the favorites to win the East at +150.

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