Ibaka’s Raptors debut put on hold
Will play after all-star break
Serge Ibaka didn’t get much of a chance to get acclimated to Toronto.
The team’s prized trade acquisition arrived in the wee hours Wednesday morning, went through a battery of tests after a few hours of sleep and finally got a chance to talk with head coach Dwane Casey and go through a team walkthrough around 5:30 p.m. ET, two hours before tipoff against the Charlotte Hornets.
The scramble was just too much to get him in the lineup for the game. He will make his debut against division-rival Boston following this weekend’s all-star break.
Coming off a lost half-season in Orlando, Ibaka, who went through many playoff wars while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, said he is eager to get started — particularly because he is re-emerging in the midst of a playoff race.
“For me it’s kind of going up again, going back in competition again and playing for something. I’m very excited,” said a tired Ibaka pre-game.
“I’m a Raptor now. I had a great time there (in Orlando) and then things didn’t work the way all of us were thinking, but things happen. I have an opportunity to play for a great team, a great organization and great city so I’m very excited.”
Ibaka was already a fan of Toronto, but talks with ex-Raptor and now former Magic teammate Bismack Biyombo also sold him.
“Yeah, yeah, since we met, me and Biz, he always tell me great stories about the city, the fans here, the team. He loves it here,” Ibaka said.
Ibaka’s assignment is to provide a defensive presence while also adding a jolt to the struggling offence.
“A team like this, I’m just going to try to bring my experience and my defensive game, my toughness, my energy,” the two-time NBA blocked shots leader said. “Because when you have guys like (all-star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan) you don’t need an offensive, scoring guy, really. You need a guy who can bring some physicality and defensive plays, energy, running up and down. Those are the things I’m really going to bring.”
Ibaka was pleased to be reunited with assistant coach Rex Kalamian, the longtime Thunder assistant. They went to the NBA Finals together in 2012, losing to the Miami Heat.
“Crazy Rex, yeah I know him since OKC. That’s going to help me a lot because he really understands me,” Ibaka said. “He knows me very well. I used to work with him all the time. He knows my game and I know him as a coach. So it’s going to be perfect.”
Ibaka made the all-defensive first team three times while with the Thunder, but was eager for an exit so he could play a bigger role elsewhere.
Now he’s back in a secondary situation, but that doesn’t mean his personal expectations have changed.
“It’s always pressure in sport ... and it’s going to be always pressure, but I think (that) pressure make us better,” he said.