Reason #3 Serge Ibaka is a better signing for the LA Clippers – His defense
I mean, is there anyone who would try and argue against this? The whole NBA fanbase saw in the playoffs what Clippers fans knew – Trezz isn’t a good defender. Sure, he’s excellent at taking charges and can hold his own against some smaller centers but throw some size his way and things just fall apart.
Ibaka, on the other hand, is an excellent defender. He has led the league in blocks four times and was All-Defensive First Team on three separate occasions. Yes, all this happened back during his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder but while he has gotten older and slowed down, he’s still got the feel on the defensive end.
He had a defensive rating of 104 this season with the Raptors, in line with his previous seasons but he posted a career-best defensive rating of 101 in the playoffs. Ibaka can still defend the rim. Last season, opponents shot 3% worse when he was the defender on him.
They shot a whole 9.2% worse when he was the defender and the shot was from less than six feet from the basket. He’s still got it. If you look at the stats for the regular season, Harrell actually did better than that. Go figure. His opponents shot 9.9% worse.
In the playoffs though, that’s where things differ.
Harrell’s opponents shot 5.3% better than average from six feet or less when he was the primary defender. For Ibaka, they shot 6.6% worse. I’m no mathematician but I believe that’s about an 11% difference between the two.
With Ibaka coming off the bench to spell Zubac, the Clippers will have an elite one-two punch as far as rim protection goes. That’s exactly what they needed.
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