The defining image of the Cavs-Raptors series to date, is of LeBron James casually spinning the basketball a couple of times before sticking a three-pointer in Serge Ibaka’s eye.
James swears he wasn’t showing up Ibaka in Game 2; it was simply a bait.
LeBron spinning the ball right in front of Ibaka and burying the three…the disrespect 😂💀💯 pic.twitter.com/piVkO1PMJQ
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 4, 2017
LeBron says the moment only became a big deal because of who he is:
“It’s bait,” James told ESPN at Cavs shootaround ahead of Friday’s Game 3. “If [Ibaka] would have reached in, I would have put it on the floor.
“It was a mental thing. Everything I do is mental.”
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry didn’t have a problem with James spinning the ball. He had a problem with the Raptors’ defense being so ineffective that James would feel empowered to attempt such a move.
“I was pretty upset, [but] not that he did it,” Lowry said. “He should spin the ball. He’s comfortable. We can’t let him be comfortable. We have to make him uncomfortable. He’s in a situation right now where he’s playing very comfortably and the things he’s doing is comfortable. If I was comfortable, I would do the same thing.”
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