Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  161 responses

Serge Ibaka Says LeBron James is ‘Not a Good Defender’


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

To date, the NBA Finals have been a wildly entertaining series, filled with drama, superstar talent, and compelling storylines.

What has been sorely lacking, however, is real friction and bad blood between the Miami Heat and OKC Thunder.

And Serge Ibaka is here to change that, with a bit of trash talk aimed at LeBron James prior to Game 4 tonight.

From the Palm Beach Post:

“LeBron is not a good defender,” Ibaka said about the player who received the most votes for the league’s all-defensive team, which is selected by the coaches. “He can play defense for two to three minutes but not 48 minutes.”

James was switched onto [Kevin] Durant after Game 1 when Durant scored 36 points and shot 12-of-20 with Shane Battier primarily covering him. Since, Durant is averaging 28.5 points on 23-of-41 shooting and Heat have won two games, taking a 2-1 series lead into Tuesday’s Game 4. “LeBron can’t play (Durant) one-on-one,” Ibaka said. “They’re playing good defense like a team.”

Despite not taking home the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, LeBron James established himself as the most versatile defender in the entire NBA. He’s generally recognized as the only player in the League who can defend every position on the floor, and do so all in one game.

Kevin Durant’s talent makes it so that no single defender can keep him under wraps, not even someone as gifted as LeBron. James can and does, however, make it difficult for Durant to dominate offensively.

Serge Ibaka is right about one thing, though: LeBron James is not a good defender. He is a great one.

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  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Have y’all seen droses ass? Hot as hell

  • http://Slamonline.com Gab

    Notice all the DRose/Bulls fans don’t see what happened last year. Rose shoots 6.3% with James guarding him, but it wasn’t James who was responsible even though Rose’s fg% was higher with other Miami defenders. Rose OPENLY STATES that James’ length and quickness bothered him, but Rose fans know him better than Rose himself. That’s crazy. Ibaka may be highly overrated, but Lebron is up there with the best perimeter defenders today.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    Lol, what was he gonna say? ‘my teammates sucked’ or ‘I’m not a good player’? You can’t have that bad a FG% without taking a lot of shots. He did that because his teammates weren’t helping. THEREFORE it’s predictable that Rose is the only one doing anything. Therefore it’s easier on the D. Shut up.

  • http://Slamonline.com Gab

    He could have said the usual “My shots weren’t falling”. He told the truth. What are you his personal shrink? You have ESP? lmao . FOH

  • abu bisdak

    i think serge ibaka shows his great disappointment against the heat since thunder has no way against miami.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    That’s still added criticism. Funny how you’re also dissecting same as I am moron lol. In the end, Rose can do what Lebron can’t, win without needing a superstar & allstar via trade. Nothing you can say to that LOL.

  • SouthK

    not in the post season

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/06/serge-ibaka-says-lebron-james-is-not-a-good-defender/ thePhoenix

    …Except that Rose hasn’t won anything more than Lebron did in his time at the Cavs.

  • AQWORD

    ^^^^ Win what? ^^^^^ a playoff series? X U ret X get too the finals? Xx win a title? X Redd go back to sleep + Ur r3t@rded.

  • K.a.

    I think a lot of ppl associate kobes rep on d from when shaq was around. When he was sidekick he could spend more effort on d. Jordans later years, he conserved energy on d, but having pip around was a great enabler. In spots it was downright scary to watch those 2 chase down a trapped ball handler. I dunno if bron is a great defender but hes gotten pretty good since his cavs days, somebody like pierce would just get off on him. The thing abt the heat is they have a lot of good to great individual defenders. Bron, wade, udonis, battier, they all play D. Even bosh has great footwork if not weight to be as elite as howard or chandler.

  • Payton The SneakerAddict

    I Would Love To See Serge Ibaka Shoot 100% From The Field Against LeBron James Instead Of The Spurs Since LeBron Isn’t A Good Defender

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