TNT Charles Barkley Believes the New York Knicks Will Make It To 2015-2016 NBA Playoffs

TNT analyst and former NBA player Charles Barkley is a notorious New York Knicks hater, so for him to believe that the Knicks could make it to this 2015-2016 season's NBA Playoffs is certainly unusual and fairly unthinkable.

Barkley believes that the Knicks have the potential to bounce back from their worst record in franchise history (last season's 17 out of 82 games win), and possibly make it to the playoffs for the first time in three years. Barkley said that the biggest difference between last season's Knicks compared to this season's Knicks is a healthy Carmelo Anthony and "actual NBA players" being on the Knicks.

"The Knicks are one of my sleeper teams," Barkley, a TNT analyst, said on a conference call Monday afternoon, as reported by New York Sun Times. "I think Phil Jackson's done a good job getting quality NBA players.

"[Kristaps] Porzingis, he's obviously a young kid with tremendous upside. ... [Robin] Lopez is a legitimate NBA player, Arron Afflalo is an NBA player, [first-round pick Jerian] Grant is an NBA player, you got Derrick Williams - they've got actual NBA players.

"I'm picking the Knicks to make the playoffs. I'm guaranteeing it!"

Now, back in January, Barkley actually threatened to quit is TV gig if TNT continued making him work Knicks games, while stating that the team's attempt at implementing Phil Jackson's triangle offense was stupid.

However, maybe Barkley is onto something about the Knicks as ESPN analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson also believe the Knicks have the potential to make to the postseason, according to the New York Daily News.

So, maybe it's a bit odd for Barkley to show the Knicks some love, but Barkley's reason for disliking the Knicks was heavily dependent on the fact that the Knicks really did suck last season. Plus, maybe Barkley is finally coming to the realization that the Knicks deserve a chance.

He did mention that Phil Jackson's accomplishments and efforts deserve respect and admiration, especially since the Knicks as a whole weren't able to concentrate on bettering the team with all the commotion about firing former coach Mike Woodson, as reported by NewsDay.

At least, Charles Barkley's prediction for the Knicks turned out to be positive for a change!