Ibaka Calls Out LeBron. His Mistake

“LeBron is not a good defender.”

That is quite the insight there, Serge Ibaka.  But we are talking about the same LeBron James, right?

The same one that matches up with the opposing teams best player night in and out.  The same who has a PER against of 10.6.  The same who has made 4 All-NBA Defensive First Teams.

I guess he is talking about the same one.  If that is the case, I would love for him to enlighten me on this belief.  Granted, he is the best weak-side shot blocker in the league due to his Stretch Armstrong arms so he does get some leeway when he talks about defense.

But to call LeBron a bad defender is just plain stupid.  His physicality, athleticism, and quick hands make him one of the best defenders in the league.  Don’t forget that his 6’ 9”, 260 pound frame allows him to guard four positions easily.

To me, this is just a sound clip that he hopes gets back to LeBron to get in his head.  But why would he go after the one area where LeBron has total control of his performance?

My dad always taught me that when you can’t score or play well on offense, you could always play good defense and rebound.  It won’t matter what is happening on the defensive end, because you control how much effort you put forth.

It would have made more sense for Ibaka to continue on the LeBron isn’t clutch motif, or that he whines about every call.  But instead he went with the one area where LeBron can, and will, give 100% every night.

Don’t be surprised if we see LeBron grab 12-15 rebounds and rack up a couple of steals and blocks after hearing about this.

And one thing that Ibaka seemed to forget: his team is down 2-1 with two more games to go in Miami.  Maybe the smartest thing to do wasn’t give LeBron great motivation when the Heat could have played complacent tonight due to that lead .  Don’t count on it now.