[jhbm24Participant]

 Serge Ibaka or Blake Griffen?

 

i was having an arguement with some buddies of mine, and to my astonishment they said Serge Ibaka was.. I would really like to see if more people agree with this crazy notion that Ibaka is a better player than Griffen. NOW!! I don’t wanna ear who you’d rather have on your team and who you LIKE because of their personalities. Just answer the simple question. Who is better?

[NCarmean18Participant]

 It’s really difficult to pick who is the better player at this point in time.  Blake Griffin has more flash and potential, but as of right now, he is still very raw on the offensive side of the ball and he is also a pretty bad defender.  

In Serge’s perspective, he has a pretty good offensive game, with a consistant mid-range jump shot.  He is a good defender and one of the best shot blockers in the league. 

Both players can run the floor extremely well and both can dunk with authority.  I think Serge is a bit more polished than Blake, but I believe that Blake has a bigger desire to be great than Serge Ibaka, and Blake has more potential to become a superstar.  

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

*Griffin. Blake all the way, serge is a very exciting player to watch but his defense is overrated. Yeah he can block shots but one on one he gets killed. Just like 2 years go he was one of the main reasons why okc lost. Dirk killed him with pumpfakes and Lebron kept attacking him in the paint an he couldn’t stop them at all

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

*Griffin. Blake all the way, serge is a very exciting player to watch but his defense is overrated. Yeah he can block shots but one on one he gets killed. Just like 2 years go he was one of the main reasons why okc lost. Dirk killed him with pumpfakes and Lebron kept attacking him in the paint an he couldn’t stop them at all

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Yeah man. Good examples. Any PF who can’t stop Dirk or Lebron just has no business being in the league. 

[bangbangwaynee]

Git real

[frogmanParticipant]

Can you just talk like a normal person. Please

[ShekiruBoomParticipant]

 serge ibaka has better offensive game than blake griffin?? seriously these talks about how dwight howard and blake griffin dont have an offensive game is overblown they still average 20+ points. when people say they have a raw offensive game that is raw in terms of carrying an offense as a franchise player. serge ibake better offensive game o plz

[TEQU1LAParticipant]

 LOL, @ this topic…

[bangbangwaynee]

U guys should bee asham

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

his iz a dum topic. U guys should bee asham —————————————————————————————————–

^this

Let’s put it this way; if the Clips offered the Thunder Griffin for Ibaka straight up, do you think OKC would say no?

In reverse, if the Thunder offered to trade Ibaka to the Clips for Griffin do you think the Clips would consider it?

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

 I actually don’t think this is bad, everyone is giving him negatives, but this shows how everyone just values offense more than defense. Serge Ibaka’s defense is just as good as Blake Griffins offense, and Serge’s offense needs improvement, and Blakes defense really needs improvement. They both run the floor extremely well, Serge covers the pick and roll better, Blake is a much better ball handler, Serge’s mid range jumpshot is just as consistent as Blake’s now. Blake is much more explosive attacking the basket. I think Blake is highly overrated. Yes he’s a top 50 player but not top 15. Serge is top 50, he’s probably about 10 spots lower than Blake. 

BLAKE IS THE BETTER PLAYER BUT IT’S NOT BY THIS ABSURD AMOUNT EVERYONE IS SAYING, AND YES I’M TYPING IN CAPS TO SIMULATE MY SCREAMING. Lol

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

I’d take Lamarcus Aldridge over both of them.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

@ShekiruBoom…

im glad you brough that up…I hate when ppl say Blake and Dwight have no offense, when they average 20+ points…I dont care if they are all from dunks, isnt that the highest % shot? 

[iguapops420Participant]

 Blake is better than Serge. Having said that, Blake has become one of the absolute most overrated players right now. For a guy who averages 10+ rebound, he simply isn’t that good at it as he rebounds more like a guard coming out of position to grab bounds instead of boxing out like a big man should. Furthermore, his post game is non-existant. As a defender, aside from an OCCASIONAL charge, he is an absolute atrocious defender. His guard skills are tremendous for a player with his athleticism and size. 

Blake is a great player with franchise potential, but if he doesn’t improve his post game and rebounding fundamentals, he’s going to become a glorified Amare with passion.

[BasterdInABasketParticipant]

Other than the athleticism these guys are really different 4s. Advantage to Serge on the jump shot, free throws (can some professional shooting coach please teach Griffin some fucking shooting form, DeAndre Jordan too), length and especially defense. Griffin is more explosive on offense obviously and can put a lot of pressure on the defense. Right now you cant really give the ball to either guy in 1v1 situations and rely on them to be a consistent scorer, both need playmakers around them.If Im OKC Id easily rather have Ibaka, same with LA and Griffin. Overall I take Griffin for his potential but is Del Negro really gonna make him a great player? Doubt it. 

[BasterdInABasketParticipant]

Also Griffin really needs some more focus and effort on D. And please stop bitching at the refs! Damn this guy makes me so mad knowing how great he could be!

[F_S]

to me there is no argument here, griffin is much better than ibaka.

[J-rueMykelParticipant]

I’d take DCUZ and Anthony Davis over either

[TEQU1LAParticipant]

 Funny, how people call a guy that averages over 20 PPG and 10 RPG throughout his career overrated. Blake might not be the most skilled player or best defender but he’s without question one of the hardest workers in the league. If all he does is dunk and still be able to drop 20+ PPG then just imagine how unstoppable he’ll be once he develops a consistent J and enhances his post game. For goodness sake, give him a break he’s barely going into his 3rd yr as a pro and u people expect him to be the MVP already, eventually he’ll get there but like anything it takes time. Anybody, that thinks Ibaka is anywhere near Blake atmosphere doesn’t know shit about basketball. Blake’s upside can only be matched by A.Davis no one else in the league has his ceiling.

[blood]

 Put Griffin on OKC squad and he’s 15 ppg player at best,put ibaka on clippers he’s 17ppg at least…Griffin will never be "elite" without elite pg… and okc doesnt really need Ibaka to score much,he’s there as their primary defender/shot blocker…90 % people will say Griffin but thats just cause of dunks.Tbh i think its a tossup curently cause they are both needed by their teams to do different stuff…And I dont think that Ibaka will reach his full potential with the OKC

[BigChamp12Participant]

 THER IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY IBAKA IS A TOP 50 PLAYER RIGHT NOW!!! YOU ALL ARE KILLING ME

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

 Blake Griffin is becoming the new Kevin Durant on this site, you can’t critique him without getting negged 40 times. Both great players but both still have tons of room to develop. It’s scary when you think about it, but the point is they actually have to get there, them completing there games isn’t a guarantee.

[F_S]

 i think that any1 who says ibaka>griffin deserves 40 negs.

you are misunderstanding blake’s CURRENT SKILL with his POTENTIAL.

as a sophomore he averaged 21pts-11rebs-3ast and according to you "he hasn’t even gotten there yet", he was an all-star his rookie year.

 

[HitsterParticipant]

Different types of player, it could be like saying who is a better player out of say Iggy or Danny Grainger for example or Al Jefferson and Tyson Chandler as although they play the same position they have totally different games.

Personally I’d take Griffin over Ibaka but I’m a big fan of both guys and in no way this detracts from Ibaka’s input. Although I’ll throw in a fun suggestion does anyone see Blake Griffin being extended for only $48 to $50 million over 4 years as that was Ibaka’s new contract.

 

[MOMINGParticipant]

nice post

[XYRYXParticipant]

 I don’t think Blake is lightyears ahead of Serge as both of them have A LOT of room to grow. Now that OKC extended Ibakas Contract I’m pretty sure he will be in a bigger role offensively for this team as OKC desperately needs scoring from the post and as long Perkings is around Ibaka and Collison are the only proven "scorers" on this team. 

By the way, Ibaka has signed for 4 years and 48 mil wich is a lot and more what I think a guy with his talents should get but compared to the money let’s say Hibbert or Lopez’ got this is pretty fair value AND Blake was signed under the terms of the Derrick Rose rule which means that he can have a max max contract worth up to 95 mil over 5 years cause Blake was a 2 time All Star in his first contract. Given his durability I’m not so sure if 95 mil over 5 years is so much better than 48 over 4 years. If Blake will get hurt seriously again, Donald Sterling will be the idiot and CP3 will demand another trade…

In the end I’m happy my thunder worked out a deal to keep Ibaka because he is a wysiwyg player and has so much room to grow. Of course he is overrated deffensively but i don’t see many young forwards in the league beeing so young and having a defensive game at all and he has never been injured AND could even play the 5 which is a big plus considering what could happen to to Perkins cause I’m sure the Thunder will chose Harden over Perkins which in the end is the dicision they have to make. 

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

"Put Griffin on OKC squad and he’s 15 ppg player at best,put ibaka on clippers he’s 17ppg at least…Griffin will never be "elite" without elite pg" "Right now you cant really give the ball to either guy in 1v1 situations and rely on them to be a consistent scorer, both need playmakers around them."

——————————————————————————————————————-

Seriously guys? Does nobody remember that Griffin averaged 22.5 PPG as a 21 year old rookie with a committee of Eric Bledsoe, Mo Williams and chubby Baron Davis playing PG. He has already proven that he can be a top scoring PF in this league without an elite PG or a true playmaker around him.

[HitsterParticipant]

Good point by ItsDwight and it got me thinking, as although Blake Griffin averaged less PPG last season than in his first active year, the Clippers improved and no doubt CP3 made Blake’s contributions more telling.

My point is although often an elite PG may not improve the team’s star player’s scoring they will certainly improve the rest of the rosters and merely by spreading the floor, it will create more scoring opportunities for others. For example Vince Carter who was at his peak when he went to the Nets didn’t suddenly improve his scoring when he had Jason Kidd as his PG and Kobe will not suddenly go for more PPG as he has Nash as his PG. Likewise Ricky Rubio may not statisically improve K-Love’s scoring but he’ll certainly improve the T-Wolves fortunes.

Of course you don’t need an elite PG to win, Miami and Lakers have won titles without a star PG in recent years but there must be some sort of efficiency stat which would show what CP3’s worth is to the Clippers for example.

As regards swapping Griffin and Ibaka, I feel Griffin would be around 20ppg plus whilst playing with the Thunder and that Ibaka would by default improve his scoring to 15 to 18ppg just by the amount of shots he’d get and what CP3 would create for him.

[HaleParticipant]

 Why is this even a question? Griffin is light years ahead of Ibaka as a player, and still has a higher ceiling.

[F_S]

 i think that is because he averaged 4.8 blocks per 36 minutes… more than dikembe mutombo, david robinson, tim duncan, kareem abdul jabber, hakeem, alonzo mourning, dwight howard… you name it!!

yet his defense is overrated.  

i agree with you though, there is no argument here imo. i thought EXACTLY what ”dwight howard” said in his first post…

would okc rather have westbrook/ durant/ griffin…. and the answer is YES.

would the clippers rather have a duo of chris paul/ ibaka…. and the answer is NO.

 

[LipstickParticipant]

Ibaka’s defense IS overrated lol, the guy doesn’t know the difference between goaltending and blocking. Sure you’re going to goaltend once or twice on accident, but he consistently does it. Against an exhibition against the U.S he goaltended at least four times in the first half. Not a bad reason to limit his playing time.

Still, he’s super young. Both of them are, and many super athletic players don’t develop a jumpshot until their mid to late 20s (exhibit A: LeBron).

Ibaka really needs a post game though. It’s pathetic how he just can’t post up smaller bigs when he’s so quick and athletic.

And Ibaka’s lack of a post game is as puzzling as Griffin’s lack of shotblocking ability. Comparing the two is just super weird in general. I’m doing circles.

I would take Griffin, but thanks to his durability I’m still freaking out every time he goes to the rim.

[F_S mock]

“””yet his defense is overrated.”””

.””Ibaka’s defense IS overrated lol, the guy doesn’t know the difference between goaltending and blocking. Sure you’re going to goaltend once or twice on accident, but he consistently does it. Against an exhibition against the U.S he goaltended at least four times in the first half. Not a bad reason to limit his playing time.””

.

i was trying to say his defense IS over rated.

[JKOLINSAParticipant]

Blake Griffin

[wizoaokoosaoParticipant]

Is who:

[Author]

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