Serge Ibaka makes his presence felt in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. (GETTY IMAGES)

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka had a Willis Reed moment.

For those who are too young to remember Willis Reed, he’s the guy who lifted the New York Knicks to a world championship in 1970 by sinking two baskets at the start of Game 7 despite a leg so badly hurt he could barely jog.

Ibaka did more that score two baskets in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. He made his first five shots from the field for 10 points in the first quarter and made his presence felt on the defensive end where he has earned the nickname Serge Protector.

Not bad for a guy who was supposed to miss the remainder of the playoffs with a calf injury.

After the Thunder won Game 3 106-97, Popovich made reference to Ibaka’s “out for the remainder of the season” during his post-game comments by making light of Manu Ginobili’s minor foot injury.

“[Manu’s] fine. Or he’s going to out for the rest of the playoffs,” Popovich joked.

When the Thunder made the announcement that Ibaka is done for the season, the Spurs rolled their eyes. They had a feeling he was going to return. And he did.

Ibaka finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in a little more than 30 minutes of work.

On offense, Ibaka may the Spurs pay every time he picked and popped to the elbow. San Antonio had been loading up defensively on Russell Westbrook the first two games of the series because Nick Collison wasn’t a threat to shoot. But in Game 3, Westbrook found Ibaka wide open each time they ran their high pick-and-roll offense.

But Ibaka made his biggest impact on defense. He had a team-leading four blocks, but he probably altered 10 shots near the rim. He also allowed the Thunder to stay connected with the Spurs’ 3-point shooters especially Danny Green, who was coming off a Game 2 in which he buried seven 3-pointers.

Green had just eight points and was 3-for-12 from the field in Game 3.

Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who had his way against OKC’s defense in Games 1 and 2 (both Spurs blowouts), struggled to get into a rhythm in Game 3 mainly because Ibaka was patrolling the paint. Whenever Parker turned the corner off pick-and-rolls, Ibaka was right in his face. One time he made Parker lose his balance on a drive and another he rejected Parker’s flip shot to trigger an OKC break.

“Serge has put so much work in throughout the season that missing a couple of days didn’t hurt him,” Westbrook said. ”Tonight, he jumped right back into where he was.”

Scott Brooks should also get some credit. He did a great acting job in the first two games, leaving the impression that Ibaka was lost for the season. He repeated four times to a reporter after Game 1 that Ibaka was not coming back. Each time he said it his nose grew.

”When you talk about a teammate, that’s everything you want in a teammate,” Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant said about Ibaka. ”I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, that’s something you want beside you.”

Ibaka certainly has the Spurs’ respect — and full attention.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Serge Ibaka needs to be a force inside for Oklahoma City to become a legitimate title contender. (CBS SPORTS)

Last season when Oklahoma City had the devastating trio of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and James Harden the team’s rallying cry was “Thunder up!” This season, despite owning the second-best record in the Western Conference, the theme has been downgraded to “Thunder down!”

So what gives?

As good as Oklahoma City has been all season it has many flaws. Some ESPN personalities, such as Skip Bayless, harp on Westbrook’s erratic play that’s keeping the Thunder from taking the next step into becoming a championship contender. Some even suggest that Durant is way too passive and doesn’t demand ball enough. Some point the finger at head coach Scott Brooks for poor adjustments.

Because they are the leaders of the team, Westbrook and Durant are easy targets for criticism. But THE GUY who deserves the blame for OKC’s inability to jump over San Antonio and Miami is forward Serge Ibaka.

During the offseason Thunder general manager Sam Presti had a difficult decision. Who should the team keep: Harden or Ibaka? The team couldn’t afford to keep both so one had to go. Presti gave Ibaka a contract extension and shipped Harden to Houston.

It was a move necessitated by the new economic landscape in the NBA and the common prevailing thought that you would rather keep a good big man or a good perimeter player.

Presti and the Thunder rolled the dice and broke up their super trio, hoping that Ibaka would grow from his current supporting role into a starring role.

And that hasn’t happened.

Despite his immense potential, the 23-year-old forward has somewhat plateaued as a player and his tepid progress offensively is holding back Oklahoma City from becoming a legitimate championship contender.

Ibaka remains a demon on the defensive end, but he has not evolved as an offensive player. Instead of developing some kind of an inside game near the basket Ibaka has gone farther and farther away from the basket. He has often fallen in love with the 3-point shot, which teams will gladly welcome because it relieves them from having to defend him in the paint.

Ibaka has been up-and-down this season, looking like a superhero one night then looking very ordinary the next. He had a 25-17 game against San Antonio in December, but had a 6-6 game against Miami in February. In a nationally televised game against the New York Knicks on April 7, Ibaka was surprisingly absent when it counted most. Sure, he surged ahead for 11 points and five blocks in the first quarter, but he scored just one more basket and did not have a block the rest of the game as the Thunder lost, 125-120.

Ibaka’s scoring average is up from last season (from 9 to 13) but his rebounding is not where it should be (7.9). For a guy with his length, physique, and jumping ability, Ibaka could easily average 16 points and 10 rebounds in the NBA. He should be dominating the power forwards in the West.

Charles Barkley famously asked, “what do you call a power forward who averages less than eight rebounds a game … a small forward.”

For the Thunder to win the NBA title, Ibaka must challenge himself into becoming a bigger force inside. Instead of working on his 3-point shot he should be working on jump hooks and drop steps in the paint. He needs to play closer to the basket.

It’s time for Ibaka to Thunder up.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

James Harden dropped 46 points on Serge Ibaka and the Oklahoma City Thunder. (GETTY IMAGES)

For those who still think that James Harden is not a superstar, you need to watch the Feb. 20 game between the Rockets and Thunder very closely because we just witnessed one of the best individual performances in the NBA this season.

It was a game that makes second-guess the Thunder’s decision to trade the man known as The Beard from Oklahoma City to Houston. It was a game that will convince you that Harden, now out of the shadows of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, is one of the best players in the world.

With his Rockets down by 14 with under five minutes left, Harden decided to take the game over. He single-handedly rallied the Rockets, dropping a career-high 46 points in a 122-119 victory that had the Toyota Center buzzing — and the rest of the league for that matter — buzzing. Harden made 14 of 19 shots from the field and made seven of his eight 3-point attempts.

It didn’t matter who OKC put on Harden, he just kept scoring. Not even the Thunder’s two best defenders, Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha, could slow him down.

The signature play of the evening came at the two-minute mark of the final quarter when Harden faced Ibaka on the wing, gave him one crossover dribble, four between-the-legs dribbles, then stepped backed for a long 3-pointer over the best shot-blocker in the NBA to tie the score at 111. It was one of the better one-one-one plays you will ever see on a basketball court.

The Thunder said moving Harden was a financial move, pointing to the luxury tax and the fact that the team already has two max contracts (Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) in their books and couldn’t afford a third. But if it was strictly financial then why not dump Kendrick Perkins and his overpriced $9 million contract and not re-sign Ibaka to make room for Harden? Nick Collison could easily fill Perk’s shoes, and as good as Ibaka is on defense the Thunder still struggle to hold teams down so keeping Serge didn’t exactly fix OKC’s deficiencies on the defensive end.

And there’s only a handful of legit fourth-quarter closers in the game today and Harden is one of them. He is just a shade below Durant, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade when the game is on the line.

Bottom line here is the Harden trade will haunt OKC for a long time because the Thunder went from near locks to repeat as Western Conference champs and may be challenge the Miami Heat for a title to falling back to the pack with the Spurs, Clippers, and Grizzlies. OKC general manger Sam Presti and owner Clay Bennett had in their mitts a three-headed beast in Harden, Durant, and Westbrook who genuinely like each other on and off the court unlike the stars in L.A.

All three guys can each win a game or a series for you, much like Harden did vs. the Spurs in the 2012 Western Conference finals. San Antonio can point to Harden as the reason why the Thunder rallied from an 0-2 series hole.

Yet, the Thunder chopped off that three-headed beast with their own sword.

LeBron James (right) kneels on the sideline after suffering from leg cramps in the fourth quarter. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Miami Heat fought through a ton of adversity Tuesday night, including leg cramps that forced LeBron James to watch the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, to take Game 4, 104-98.

The Heat now hold a commanding 3-1 edge in the NBA Finals and can clinch the championship in Game 5. Here are some observations from Game 4:

Where is James Harden?

For those who didn’t catch the postgame show on NBA TV, Charles Barkley made a really funny quip regarding Harden’s head-scratching disappearance in The Finals. Host Matt Winer asked Barkley why he was looking under the table to which Barkley replied, “I’m looking for James Harden.” With the exception of Game 2 in Oklahoma City, Harden has been MIA in this series — especially in Miami. In games 1, 3, and 4 Harden is 6-for-26 from the field and had back-to-back 2-for-10 games on the road. If the Thunder are going to extend this series, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year must find his shooting touch and regain his confidence.

LeBron emptying his gas tank

Leg cramps prevented the three-time NBA MVP from finishing Game 4, but his 3-point shot from the top of the circle (despite his leg locking up) with under two minutes to play gave the Heat the lead for good and was the biggest shot of the game. Moments later, Dwyane Wade made it a five-point game. You can say all you want about LeBron not performing well in the crunch time, but his effort and energy throughout the series has been nothing short of superb. He is scoring on drives, setting up teammates with the pass, rebounding, and defending Kevin Durant. How many players are able to do that? James has been the undisputed MVP of the 2012 NBA Finals and — if he wins that elusive ring — he deserves all the credit in the world because he is leaving everything he’s got on the floor.

Wild, wild Westbrook
Russell Westbrook had a superb game to say the least. He scored 43 points on 20-of-32 field goal attempts, and most of them were on the spectacular variety. Westbrook was absolutely sensational despite some miscues at the end, the biggest one was not knowing time and situation when he fouled Mario Chalmers with five seconds left on the shot clock. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said the game would not be close if not for his heroics. Those who criticize Westbrook should take a closer look at Tuesday game and see what a special talent Westbrook is.

Thunder bigs are playing small

Oklahoma City’s starting center Kendrick Perkins and power forward Serge Ibaka have been relatively useless in this series. Perkins can’t seem to find hoop and Ibaka looks like someone who is a bit overwhelmed by the mounting pressure of The Finals. Both Perkins and Ibaka are struggling offensively and have left the Heat off the hook by not punishing Miami’s “small ball.” Brooks may need to call on reserve forward Nick Collison to play more minutes because Perk and Ibaka have given him nearly nothing in this series.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks pressed all the right buttons in the series against the Spurs. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

What a difference a week makes. Last week the San Antonio Spurs were on a historic roll, winning 20 in a row and were a perfect 10-0 in the postseason.

Seven days later the unbeatable Spurs are going fishing after dropping four consecutive games to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs’ season ended Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, as the young and hungry Thunder — led by three-time scoring champ Kevin Durant — overcame a 15-point halftime deficit in Game 6 and closed out the Western Conference finals series with a 107-99 victory.

The Thunder will get their first taste of the NBA Finals while the Spurs are left with a bitter taste in their mouths after dropping the ball on what seemed like a sure-fire championship. The Thunder showed remarkable composure for such a playoff novice, while the veteran-laden Spurs were the ones looking unsure and played out of character.

“As sad as disappointed as we are it’s almost like a Hollywood script for OKC in a sense,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They went through Dallas, last year’s NBA champion. They went through the Lakers and they went through us. Those three teams represent 10 of the last 13 championships.”

It’s not often Popovich gets outcoached in a playoff series but Scott Brooks pressed the right buttons for OKC. It started with the hack-a-Splitter in Game 2, staying with Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins and deciding against small ball, and putting Thabo Sefolosha on Tony Parker in Game 3.

Brooks challenged his big men to switch every pick-and-roll and Ibaka and Perkins rewarded their coach with more energy and effort. There was a great moment in Game 3 in OKC when Perkins was caught in a switch with Parker and instead of backing up Perkins started clapping his hands as he moved forward on Parker, signaling to the Spurs point guard to “bring it!”

And instead of minimizing his role in the series Brooks increased Sefolosha’s minutes and although he didn’t completely shut down Parker he made it harder for the Spurs’ leading scorer to find open teammates because of his length.

Another adjustment Brooks made was the ball screens for Durant. He had Durant in high pick-and-rolls with Russell Westbrook and Perkins to create mismatches and forced Duncan and Parker in one-one-one situations against Durant and created better floor spacing for the OKC shooters.

After the Thunder tied the series at 2-2, Popovich gambled by starting Manu Ginobili in Game 5. It was an uncharacteristically desperate move by the four-time world champion coach. The move not only pushed Danny Green to the bench but it also junked up a rotation that had been so good all season.

In hindsight Popovich probably should have stayed the course and a former Spurs player was also critical of Pop’s decision to tinker with his lineup this late in the season.

Robert Horry, who won two titles with the Spurs, said on NBA TV’s “Game Time” what hurt the Spurs having Ginobili in the starting lineup is it zapped San Antonio’s scoring punch off the bench especially in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a tag team that him and Tony share,” Horry said. “First quarter Tony does his thing then Manu comes in the second quarter.

“They are both very ball dominant, and they get their plays off the pick-and-rolls,” Horry continued. “Now with the insertion of Manu it takes away that punch that you have and you need to keep that punch sometimes because it’s the rhythm you have and that’s what the team is used to and I just think it went helter-skelter kinda crazy with both those guys trying to handle the basketball.”

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (left) battles Tim Duncan (middle) and Danny Green of the Spurs for a rebound. (GETTY IMAGES)

The San Antonio game plan for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals was simple. Crowd Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden and put the onus on the offensively challenged Oklahoma City big men.

In theory it’s an excellent well-conceived idea by Gregg Popovich and the Spurs coaching staff. But what Popovich didn’t anticipate was 22 out of 25 baskets from Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, and Nick Collison. Ibaka was the biggest headache for the Spurs, as he made all 11 field goals he attempted and finished the night with 26 points.

When Popovich was asked how effective Ibaka was Saturday night he said, “Eleven for eleven, that’s pretty big effect.”

Ibaka was spectacular but Perkins wasn’t too shabby either, hitting seven of nine shots for 15 points. He had scored just 12 in the first three games. Add Collison’s eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and you have the recipe for victory and a 2-2 series.

So what’s the game plan for Popovich for the pivotal Game 5? “Maybe they’ll do it again, but I don’t think so,” the Spurs coach said. “We’re going to play the same defense, and if they don’t shoot as well it won’t be because of our defense it’ll be because they didn’t shoot as well. ”

San Antonio’s prove-it-to-me-again game plan will either send the Spurs into the NBA Finals or it will lead to a disappointing finish to a postseason that saw them run off 10 straight victories.  Popovich is not about to scrap his defensive plan just because Ibaka couldn’t miss.

Ibaka’s perfect night was the first 11-for-11 playoff game since 1985 when Celtics forward Scott Wedman tossed a perfect game against the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

“Obviously you try to put your attention on the big three [Durant, Westbrook, Harden] and you try to do a great job on them first, naturally. Their bigs came through and were outstanding. I think they were 22 of 25 or some crazy thing. If you do a shooting drill with nobody guarding you I don’t think you can do that.”

Former Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said the Spurs have bigger issues than scheming against Oklahoma City’s frontcourt players.

“Where are San Antonio’s shooters? They gotta find their rhythm again,” Mitchell said on NBA TV’s “Game Time.”

“Oklahoma City has taken them out of their comfort zone. They’re not getting those open shots because Tony Parker doesn’t have any driving lane,” Mitchell said. “[Parker] is not making that first pass that makes Oklahoma City rotate. Right now Oklahoma City is staying at home guarding their guy. Unless San Antonio can put them in rotation and get them out of position it’s gonna be tough for them to score.”

Mitchell added: “They were hedging toward Tony Parker and he kicked it out. Oklahoma City feels they’re athletic enough to get to San Antonio’s shooters. Ginobili is the only one who can pump fake and drive all the way to the basket. [Oklahoma City] is saying ‘if we can get Tony Parker out of the paint we can get to their shooters.’ And some of San Antonio shooters are gonna have to sacrifice their threes, show and go, that means take one dribble, get in the paint, and them make Oklahoma City rotate.”

Game 5 is going to be a war, and whoever wins Monday night will most likely win the series.

Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins dunks over Boris Diaw in Game 1 of the Thunder-Spurs series. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The biggest mistake Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks made in the Game 1 loss to San Antonio was his decision to play “small ball.”

Instead of sticking with his normally rotation, Brooks tried to match the lineup Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went with in the fourth quarter and it totally backfired. The nine-point lead Oklahoma City took into the final quarter vanished as the Spurs — mainly using a lineup that included four guards and one center — were able to get to the basket at will and punished the Thunder in the paint.

Manu Ginobili, who scored a team-high 26 points, and Tony Parker took turns driving to the basket and the end result was a 39-point fourth quarter for the home team. The Thunder defense faltered down the stretch and Brooks knows why. He decided to sit the league’s best shot-blocker, Serge Ibaka, and went with a smaller lineup that included three guards (Derek Fisher, Russell Westbrook, James Harden), one forward (Kevin Durant) and one center (Kendrick Perkins).

Brooks later admitted that keeping Ibaka, the runner-up in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year balloting, on the bench in the fourth quarter was a mistake and he’ll likely change that strategy in Game 2. He said he beat himself up over not putting his defensive ace back in the game, while explaining how sidelining Ibaka seemed the right idea at the time. After all, Brooks said keeping Ibaka out and going with a smaller lineup worked in the previous playoff series against the defending champion Mavericks and the Lakers.

”I think every decision you make, if it doesn’t work out, you say, ‘Why did you do that?”’ Brooks told The Associated Press. ”And I’m with you on that. I wish I would’ve played Serge [Sunday].”

By keeping Ibaka — who played just 21 minutes in Game 1 — on the bench, it allowed Popovich to use two point guards (Parker and Gary Neal) and got away with using Stephen Jackson (who is better suited at guard or small forward) at power forward and did a decent job on Durant.

Expect Brooks to call Ibaka’s number a little bit more the rest of the series and make the Spurs react to their big lineup. Having Ibaka and Perkins on the court forces Popovich to play a more conventional lineup, which means Neal has to sit and Boris Diaw or Matt Bonner may have to play big minutes.

Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook will go head-to-head in the Western Conference finals. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ESPN basketball guru Stephen A. Smith — also known as Screaming A. or Stephen Naismith, whichever you prefer — says the San Antonio Spurs are unbeatable and doesn’t think any of the teams left in the NBA playoffs, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, can knock them off.

“They don’t have a weakness,” Screaming A. says of the Spurs, who have won 18 consecutive games and have yet to drop a game in the 2012 NBA playoffs. “How can you beat them? You have to hope they beat themselves.”

In the history of basketball, no team is unbeatable — not even the great San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs won’t beat themselves, so that approach is out the window. But there are several matchups the Thunder can exploit to give the Spurs a run for their money.

Here are five things to watch in the Spurs-Thunder conference finals:

1-TIM DUNCAN VS. PERKINS, IBAKA, COLLISON, MOHAMMED

No matter how old he gets or how his role has changed on offense, Duncan remains the foundation of the Spurs program. He is the anchor on defense and his presence on offense allows Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green room to operate. Kendrick Perkins will likely get the assignment to guard the future Hall-of-Famer, but he won’t be alone. Expect OKC head coach Scott Brooks to throw different bodies at Duncan, including Ibaka, Collison and Duncan’s former teammate Nazr Mohammed. The Thunder big men won’t get much help from their teammates because they must stay attached to the Spurs’ 3-point shooters. This means the OKC bigs must deal with Duncan one-on-one, and their ability to make Duncan work and expend energy will be an important part of the game plan.

2-TONY PARKER VS. RUSSELL WESTBROOK

Parker pretty much had his way against the Thunder during the regular season, including a 42-point game, so it is up to Westbrook to make Parker work a little harder on defense. Westbrook is coming off a great series against the L.A. Lakers, but none of the Laker guards really challenged him. Parker is a totally different beast. Parker will test Westbrook on every possession with an array of screen-and-rolls, and Westbrook must be able to fight through the picks and not allow Parker to easily turn the corner. On offense, Westbrook has to punish Parker by posting him up from time to time and maybe get a couple of cheap fouls on him. This is one of the marquee matchups for the playoffs and should be fun to watch two of the fastest guys in the league go head-to-head.

3-MANU GINOBILI VS. JAMES HARDEN

Harden was recently named the best sixth man in the NBA, but he’s now matched up against the former Sixth Man of the Year. Ginobili and Harden are eerily similar in the way they play. Both are lefties to begin with, but they’ve also mastered the art of the Euro step. Ginobili brought the Euro step to the NBA in 2003, and Harden is one of just a handful of American-born players who have incorporated the move into their offensive repertoire. The Spurs won two out of three games against the Thunder during the regular season, but Ginobili didn’t play in any of them. It will be interesting to note how Harden and Co. will game plan for Ginobili, who is the fire that ignites Gregg Popovich’s methodical offense.

4-GOING DEEP ON THE BENCH

The strength of the Spurs this season has been their depth. Popovich can go 10 deep in his rotation, and the addition of Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw halfway through the season only bolstered their roster. Parker, Green, Leonard, Diaw and Duncan start the game, but the Spurs don’t lose much on both ends when they bring in Gary Neal, Ginobili, Jackson, Matt Bonner and Tiago Splitter off the bench. The Thunder won’t be able to compete with the Spurs’ depth, but they can get contribution from some key bench guys. Obviously the offense will run through Harden when the starts sit, but Derek Fisher and Daequan Cook must be able to knock down some 3-pointers to keep up with the high-scoring Spurs, and Collison and Mohammed need to win the rebounding battle.

5-DURANT MUST CLOSE THE DEAL

The Spurs have may the most complete team in this series, but the Thunder easily has the best player in Kevin Durant. The three-time scoring champion was absolutely clutch in the Lakers series and for OKC to advance it’ll need another super effort from its MVP. Just like the previous round, there will be moments in this series when the Thunder will ask Durant to make game-winning plays and he must be able to deliver on cue. Durant said he learned a lot from last year’s elimination against Dallas in the conference finals. The Thunder are back in the West finals, and we’ll see if they learned from their mistakes. For the Thunder to eliminate the Spurs Durant must be extra special. He is the one player the Spurs won’t be able to match up against. Can Durant rise up to the challenge and lead the Thunder into the NBA Finals? Can’t wait to find out.

Tyson Chandler changed the culture in New York with his defense. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler was recently named the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, breaking Dwight Howard’s three-year stranglehold on the award. Chandler helped improve the Knicks defense significantly and was a big reason why the team earned a playoff berth despite numerous injuries. So why in the world was Chandler on the second team of the all-defensive teams? Much like the do-nothing Congress, the NBA coaches and media couldn’t agree on who belongs on the list of top defenders.

The coaches had LeBron James, Serge Ibaka, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Tony Allen on the first team. Chandler was included in the second team, along with Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Luol Deng and Kobe Bryant. James and Ibaka deserve to be on the first team, but Howard should have swapped places with Chandler. And why is Kobe even on the second team? He’s not even the best defender on his own team.

To settle the debate, OneManFastBreak rates the 10 best defenders during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season:

SECOND TEAM

10) DWIGHT HOWARD — The Magic center had an up-and-down season on the off the court. He was caught in messy situation with Orlando management with the whole free agency threat, and then he was embroiled in a bizarre incident with head coach Stan Van Gundy. Despite all those distractions, Howard still managed to average a league-best 14.5 rebounds and second-best 2.2 blocked shots.

8) SHAWN MARION — Mavericks owner Mark Cuban thinks The Matrix belongs in the conversation with guys like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Tony Allen in terms of perimeter defense. “There’s nobody who’s better defensively outside the center position than Shawn Marion,” Cuban said. The Dallas owner may be on to something because how many players can guard premier power forwards and point guards? “Marion is the only guy who comes to mind,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.

8) KEVIN GARNETT — The Big Ticket somehow has discovered the Hot Tub Time Machine this season, leading Boston team to a No. 4 seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs on the strength of his leadership and defense. KG will go down in NBA history as one of its best defenders. He’s just one of a handful of players who can defend all five positions. When you look up energy and effort in the program, you see a picture of Garnett’s face.

Kevin Garnett remains a defensive force for the Celtics. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

7) TONY ALLEN — The former Celtic and current member of the Memphis Grizzlies earned his reputation as one of the toughest perimeter defenders in the league during the NBA Finals when he went toe-to-toe with Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Allen gets up in your face and doesn’t allow much air space between him and his opponent. He’s also one of the best help defenders in the league, and among the league leaders in steals. Allen can lock down on shooting guards and point guards, and occasionally small forwards.

6) LUOL DENG — The Chicago Bulls owned the best defense in the NBA and a big reason for it was Deng. Coach Tom Thibodeau says the Bulls are able to do what they do on the defensive end because of Deng’s versatility. “Lu can guard small forwards, power forwards, shooting guards,” said Thibodeau. Deng got snubbed last season when he wasn’t even included in the first or second teams. Anyone who still ignores Deng’s defense is looking more and more foolish each season.

FIRST TEAM

5) ANDRE IGUODALA — The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the best teams in terms of field-goal percentage, and a big reason why was Iguodala. The longtime Sixer was seventh in the NBA in steals (1.7) and only Kevin Durant (8.0) and LeBron James (7.9) had a better rebounding average among small forwards. Despite those numbers, Iguodala remains underrated as a top-flight defender because the Sixers are not on national TV each week. But Iggy Hops have convinced the experts after finishing seventh in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

76ers guard-forward Andre Iguodala can guard any perimeter player (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

4) RAJON RONDO — Rondo is pound for pound the toughest guy in the league. The man came back to a basketball game after dislocating his elbow. Most guys in the league would have been halfway to the hospital if that happened to them. The Celtics remain one of the hardest teams to score on because they have a great backline defender in Garnett and an absolute pest in the frontline in Rondo. He is always among the league leaders in steals, and no point guard in the Association rebounds better than Rondo.

3) LEBRON JAMES — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra marvels at how LeBron can cover so much ground on the defensive end it almost looks like there are five LeBrons out there. The Heat employ a help defense principle, which dates back to Pat Riley’s days as a Lakers coach. James has turned into the linchpin of the Heat D with his ability to guard every position on the court and, when Spoelstra needs to cool off a hot scorer, he usually calls on James to be the shutdown defender.

2) TYSON CHANDLER — Where would the New York Knicks be without Chandler? Right near the bottom of the league in defense like they’ve been in years past. It was amazing what Chandler did in his first season in Gotham. Not only did he contribute offensively with his league-leading 67% field goal percentage but he changed the culture of the Knicks by quarterbacking the defense from his center position. New York went from being the 22nd-ranked defense to fifth best in 2012.

1) SERGE IBAKA — Serge Ibaka earned the moniker Serge “Iblocka” for his penchant for sending away shots near the rim. The Oklahoma City Thunder power forward had a mind-bloggling 241 blocks (3.7 average) during the regular season which led the NBA by a mile. The next guy was L.A. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan who had a 135.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

This is just Ibaka’s third season as a professional so the sky — or his case, the rim — is the limit for the man from Brazzaville, Congo. Ibaka finished second to Chandler in the DPOY voting with 294 votes to Chandler’s 311. But you have to wonder if Ibaka was playing in New York and Chandler was in Oklahoma City those votes would be flipped around.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

The Heat own the best record in the East while the Thunder own the best record in the West. Even though the playoffs are still quite a ways from starting, the idea of a Heat-Thunder NBA Finals can’t be dismissed. And that salacious matchup will bring a head-to-head showdown between two of the best stars in the league – James and Durant.

If the Heat and the Thunder maintain their incredible pace, the MVP award could very well come down to LeBron and KD. OneManFastBreak.net picks the most valuable player, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year, most improved, sixth man of the year, and coach of the year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: LEBRON JAMES
While it wouldn’t be wrong to vote for Kobe Bryant (who is leading the league in scoring), Chris Paul (who has the L.A. Clippers in first place in the Pacific Division), and Durant for MVP, it is hard to ignore the fact that James is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, a career that already includes two MVP seasons. LeBron is at his usual studly averages in points (27), rebounds (8) and assists (6), but a big addition to his arsenal this season is the post-up game. James has been much more efficient from the field, making 55% of his shots, the best in his career. On the other hand, he is on pace to attempt just 120 threes, the lowest in his career.

LeBron James is on pace to capture his third regular season MVP award. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SERGE IBAKA
Could this be the year Dwight Howard’s three-year dominance as DPOTY comes to an end? Howard remains a stud on defense, leading the league in rebounds (15) and fifth in blocked shots (2), but Serge Ibaka has been an absolute beast. Air Congo leads NBA in blocks (3.2), which is a huge reason why the Thunder is in the top five in field-goal percentage defense. Ibaka, or Iblocka, has reached double-digit blocks three times this season. He had 10 against the Mavericks on Feb. 1, 10 against the Kings on Feb. 9, and a season’s best 11 against the Nuggets on Feb. 19. He is on pace to rack up more than 200 blocks, and deny Howard his fourth DPOTY trophy.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: RICKY RUBIO
The 2011-12 season has been the year of the young point guards and two players have emerged from the pack for top rookie honors: Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers and Ricky Rubio of the Timberwolves. Rubio brought with him tons of hype, but he has exceeded expectations with a spectacular first half. The Spanish playmaker is fifth in the league in assists (8.4) and second in steals (2.4). The only other guard who is in the top-five in both categories is Chris Paul. Irving, the top pick in the 2011 draft, leads all rookies in points (18) but he has injected some life into the moribund Cavaliers, which is still reeling from the whole LeBron Decision two seasons ago. Rubio’s Timberwolves are in a playoff hunt in the West, while Irving’s Cavs remains a lottery team. If the Timberwolves earn a playoff berth, it would be hard to ignore Rubio as the choice for ROY.

MOST IMPROVED:  JEREMY LIN
If someone else wins this award aside from Jeremy Lin then voters need to have their heads examined. Lin has been an overnight sensation, lifting the Knicks out of hibernation and creating a Tebow-esque buzz around the league. Lin’s phenomenal rags-to-riches rise has been the story of the NBA season. And he has backed up his Disney-like tale off the court with historical numbers on the court. His 38-point performance against the Lakers on Feb. 10 and his game-winning 3-pointer against the Raptors on Valentine’s Day nearly shut down Twitter. Last season, Lin was novelty act basically hanging on by his shoe laces to stay in the NBA. This season, he is the toast of Broadway and a worldwide star.  Not bad for a guy who went undrafted in 2010, cut twice, and running in the D-League a month ago. As Knicks superfan Spike Lee would say, “you can’t script this any better.”

Jeremy Lin should be the runaway winner of the NBA's most improved player award. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: JAMES HARDEN
The race for the best bench player in the league comes down to three players: Jason Terry of the Mavericks, Lou Williams of the 76ers, and James Harden of the Thunder. Terry, who won the award in 2009, is a big reason why Dallas has been able to stay afloat in the West while Dirk Nowitzki regains his fitness. Williams is enjoying his best season with Philly, leading the team in points (15.7) and often called upon to take (and make) the game-winning shots. But as good as Terry and Williams have been this season, Harden has been better. The former Arizona State star is the only non-starter in the top 30 scoring list, and his improved 3-point shot has made his lefty dribble drive even more devastating. He may not have Russell Westbrook’s blazing speed nor Kevin Durant’s pin-point shooting, but he is extremely crafty and can get his own shot. It’s time for the basketball world to recognize Harden as one of the best bench players in the league.

COACH OF THE YEAR: ERIK SPOELSTRA
Scott Brooks is a worthy candidate for coach of the year, as well as Doug Collins for the job he has done in Philadelphia and Tom Thibodeau for keeping the Bulls running while Derrick Rose heals from his injuries. However, none of them came in with the immense expectations like Erik Spoelstra did in Miami, and all the Pat Riley protoge has done is lead the Heat to the best record in the East, fend off the naysayers, exceed writers’ expectations, and find a way to keep LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh happy without completely dismissing the rest of the team. Spoelstra has done a masterful job of being part teacher, part taskmaster, part ego manager, and part motivator. He opened up the playbook offensively to allow LeBron and Wade to get in the open court, but he still maintained the Heat’s defensive philosophies.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.