Inside the NBA host Charles Barkley had some choice words for Boston Celtics star Kemba Walker, as the C's head into Saturday's Game 3 contest against the Miami Heat down 2-0 in the series.

According to Barkley, now is the time for Walker to earn his stripes as Boston's cornerstone superstar:

Barkley did not hold back, and called out Walker for not stepping up to the plate for the Celtics thus far:

“Kemba Walker's got to play better. Plain and simple. He's a vet. He's been an All-Star. They gave him hundreds of millions of dollars to come to Boston to take them to the next level. He has not played well. It's time for him to step up. One of the responsibilities of being a star: you cannot hide. You cannot disappear.”

In nine playoff games thus far, Walker has averaged 17.9 points on 41.4 percent shooting, to go with 4.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.0 steals. He's connecting on 2.0 triples per ballgame, but is doing so on a 26.9-percent clip. These numbers are not terrible, but this is not exactly the level of production one would expect from a player earning upwards of $34 million per season.

Perhaps more importantly, Walker has not been able to emerge as Boston's go-to guy down the stretch. He's made key buckets here and there, but he has failed to establish himself as the team's most reliable option during crunch time.

It is worth noting, however, that Walker reportedly played a significant role in repairing the mini-feud between Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. The two teammates had a heated exchange after Boston's Game 2 loss, and Walker reportedly went out of his way to ensure that Smart and Brown were able to hash it out not long after. Walker does deserve some criticism for his rather lackluster showing — especially in the Miami series so far — but at least he's fulfilling the role of a leader for this team off the court.