Charles Barkley not sure if Thunder can get past Heat

Charles Barkley on Thursday credited the Thunder for its improvement and its terrific cast of players but also expressed concern over whether OKC can defeat Miami in a potential NBA Finals rematch.

“It'd be a very good rematch, and those are the two favorites to me right now,” Barkley said during a national conference call with reporters in which TNT and NBA TV analysts previewed the NBA All-Star weekend.

Barkley and fellow studio analysts Kenny Smith and Steve Smith raised questions about everything from the state of the Thunder's backup point guard position to whether the departure of James Harden eventually will prove costly.

The one concern shared by all three was whether the Thunder has enough inside scoring and rebounding to make Miami pay for playing small.

“To me, the key to that team is going to be (Serge) Ibaka,” Barkley said. “(Russell) Westbrook and Ibaka are the keys. Westbrook has to get better at making people around him better. He has not done that. He's already an All-Star. Now comes the point where he (needs to be) like, ‘Oh, I've got to make the guys around me better.'

“But Ibaka to me is the guy. The only way to beat the Miami Heat is down low. And Ibaka shoots a lot of jumpers. He's got to post up and punish Chris Bosh down low.”

In last year's 4-1 series loss to the Heat, the Thunder often tried to dictate the matchups by sticking with a big lineup that included both Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. But that strategy backfired, as at least one of the Thunder's frontcourt players frequently found himself stuck covering a perimeter player. Their minutes also came at the expense of stopper Thabo Sefolosha.

“I look at Scott Brooks,” said Steve Smith. “You can't keep playing Perkins if you're playing the Heat, who plays small ball, and he can't take advantage.”