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

B.C. youre gettiin dumber by the day. When he tried to lock down Rose last year & took Paul Pierce out the game permanently & what hes doing against K.D. now. That says to me he can guard anybody therefore great defender. Ibaka is a good defender because all he can do is block shots & has to rely on Perk for good man to man coverage.

Popovich is probably more knowledgeable than JTaylor or Allenp.

Its time to take that 3-1 lead. The thunder wont be playin in OKC again until next season

Let’s be real. Ibaka is really not a very good defender. He really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Kobe’s a good defender but not in the MJ or Pippen or Payton category. He took too many plays off on defense and he didn’t have the discipline those guys did.

He didn’t average 30ppg against Artest. Defensive proficiency is holding your opposing offensive player to a distinct discrepancy, which Artest has done.
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James is not on Artest’s level, man-on-man. His help defense is the best in the League, though.

So your logic is that if you cannot shut down the greatest offensive player in the league, you cannot be a great defender? Ok. You do realize Durant still shot over 50% fg and 39% 3pt against the Lakers? Keep in mind that Artest guarded Durant more in that series than Lebron has guarded him one on one.

We know Battier was the primary defender on Durant in game 1 & 2 don’t we? No? Carry on.

KD’s numbers are a bit misleading when considering them in terms of matchups though. Most of his buckets come off the screen action. And dude has a quick trigger, so much like Ray Allen, his offensive possession begins in tandem with his screener (Perk, Ibaka, Collison et al). Once KD catches the ball with space, you’re at his mercy. I love watching him play off ball. I thought Artest did a GREAT job on him in one one one triple threat possessions, but dude kills teams with his off ball movement and quick trigger.

People still think that Artest is an elite defender at this stage in his career?

LeBron averages 30 ppg against Artest. Going by the logic that great defenders don’t give up large ppgs to players, how do we explain this fact?
Durant is a great scorer. He’s much better now than he was when they played the Lakers in the first round a few years back. It’s not even close to be honest.
I’m surprised at how many people don’t think LeBron is an excellent defender. Yes, he has some issues, but he’s still excellent. You can be an excellent defender and still have weak areas, and it’s even more impressive when you consider what he does in every other area of the game.

Derrick Rose shot 6% against LeBron. To say someone shooting 6% has nothing to do with the guy on him, when the guy shooting 6% just won MVP against all teams and team defenses is, at the very very very least, flat out ridiculous.

according to ibaka, he himself is not a good defender as tim duncan and dirk nowitzki didn’t really have a problem at all scoring on him in the playoffs… right? Ibaka is one of the most overrated defenders… I’d say kevin garnett is a far better defender than ibaka. Ibaka is good at blocks (AKA HELP DEFENSE) but when it comes to 1 on 1 and positioning? PFFT he gets destroyed by the best PF’s. Lucky for him the lakers were so dysfunctional this yr that pau lost all confidence… I harp back to last yr when dirk nowitzki absolutely OBLITERATED him 1 on 1. Garnett is a far better 1 on 1 defender right now and he is 36 years old. V. the celtics, it was hard for lebron and especially wade to get to the paint and finish. Look at this series… they are going at ibaka and perkins ALL DAY and are succeeding every single game. what does that tell you about ibaka? Pump fake his ass or fake him and you have the inside bucket. its that easy. if people want to debate tyson chandler’s D, look at how hard it was for theh heat to score inside v. chandler versus ibaka… its not even close.

It is not a coincidence that MIA’s offense and defense goes into the tank whenever LeBron is on the bench. LeBron’s defense is even more impressive given the fact that he carries such a large burden on the offensive end.

It’s actually not that hard to look at statistically. You look at the production of a match up on every possessions coupled with a teams production while that defender is on the court, compared to what they do on average. It’s how we know Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and Miami were the best defensive teams in the league, who were most effective when (Iguodala, & Brand), (Joakim, Deng, & Gibson), (Garnett, Bradley, & Rondo), and (LeBron) were on the court. Those are irrefutable facts. What is also important are (obviously) the coaches and their system. Which in my opinion is the most important factor in all of this.
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Nobody was talkin about Hollinger and his single statistic that he has become famous for. But you can use his PER in reverse if you want to simplify the effects of a player defensively (the PER of their opponent). But a lot of times, that number reflects team defense as much as individual acumen.

KD is shooting 43% while guarded by LeBron and 57% while being guarded by Wade/Battier.
I came, I saw, I conquered.

Durant going off on Shane Battier is an indictment of either Spo or LBJ, pick one. And him locking up Derrick Rose is irrelevant because he’s not in this series or in the same class with KD.

JTaylor where’d u find that stat? i went on nba.com and tried to use their stat thing to see how many times KD actually scored on LBJ vs battier/wade…i too also noticed this T-Money, and i mentioned it too..in previous discussions numerous times

It’s not an indictment of anyone. It was a strategic decision. LeBron is the HEat’s most important offensive and defensive player. But he’s also human.
He can’t go all out on both ends all game. So, his coach let him rest by not having to guard Durant for part of the game. That’s solid basketball. Phil Jackson did the same thing with Jordan and Kobe. Coaches have done it for years.
LeBron guarded Durant in spurts to conserve energy and fouls. He guarded him more last night because he felt like it was crucial to limit him more. Plus, you can’t give a great scorer like Durant the same look over and over again. That’s suicide.
People who say LeBron is all chase down blocks and steals haven’t been watching him the last two years. Dude has really worked on his game, particularly this year. He rarely fouls because he doesn’t reach in and he doesn’t jump to block shots that often. He doesn’t take charges as the primary defender. All the risky gambling plays most defensive players make to gain an advantage he avoids because he’d rather give up a shot and conserve a foul.
It’s the same point Jeff Van Gundy has made throughout the playoffs. We undervalue and overvalue fouls depending on the situation.

DMH speaking that truth!

MJ was never the est defender on his team. So when he won defensive player of the year who was better on his team? Enlighten the world please..

Omar was Pippen really that much of a better defender than MJ? I agree that LBJ has always been the best defender on his team. The thing with Bron is that he’s so damn big and he just bodies his opponent and that’s how he stays in front.

If you think Lebron isn’t a great defender, you’re bugging! He guards everyone from Durant to the popcorn and cotton candy dudes in the stands. Stop trying to find ways to downplay his ability. He’s good… offensively and defensively… Point blank, period!

IBAKA! WHY ARE YOU ANTAGONIZING THE MAN LIKE THAT?!

Bron is playing good deny defense but once Durant gets the ball he gets past lebron very easily off the dribble … thats a fact all u lebron stans that think hes some combo of jordan-kobe-mutambo