Ibaka thrives in bigger role
PHOENIX, ARIZ • It was the decision that made the Toronto Raptors’ 2017-18 regular season the success that it was.
Looking to find a way to get the most out of Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright, the Raptors decided to just throw them out on the floor together.
What resulted was arguably the best bench in the NBA helping the Raptors to a club record 59-win season. Wright, VanVleet, Pascal Sikam, CJ Miles and Jakob Poeltl were good as gold.
Boston coach Brad Stevens would come to town with his Celtics and before he got to Lowry and DeRozan and the starters, Stevens would rave about that bench mob and how they changed the game in the Raptors’ favour.
Well, that bench mob is no longer intact. At least it hasn’t been to date without Poeltl in the fold, but what’s evolved is a ‘Let’s try this’ idea that seems to be working out just as nicely for the Raptors in the early going.
New coach Nick Nurse has made the decision to start Serge Ibaka at centre and bring in last year’s starter Jonas Valanciunas off the bench except on those rare nights where they face a traditional back-to-the-basket five on the opposing team.
Ibaka is playing his best basketball since he was in his mid- and early-20s.
He and Kyle Lowry are developing the kind of chemistry in the screen and roll game that gets Toronto easy buckets when it needs them.
Ibaka is averaging a career best 16.6 points a night through eight games, while his block totals and steal totals are trending upward for the first time in the past four seasons.
His rebounding, pulling down 7.8 a game, is as proficient as it’s been since his final full year in Oklahoma City.
His playing time up is just over a half minute higher from a year ago but down between three and five minutes a night from his previous seven seasons. So he’s doing more with less.
Nurse says he had no idea this would work this well.
“We went to this and it looked really good right from the beginning. So it (Lowry and Ibaka) was a good look early. A little like when we played Delon and Fred together early last year. That’s kind of where we are with that.”
But that’s not to say he didn’t go into this without a good idea of what could happen.
“Just getting him back to being more or a roller, being around the rim, being more of a rebounder, shotblocker,” Nurse said when asked why he made this particular move with Ibaka.
“I just thought it would give him better matchups that he could take advantage of. He would be back to being the quicker of the two guys or the more agile of the guy he is playing against and most nights he is.”
Lowry and Valanciunas spent a number of years learning each other and working off one another to the point where that cohesiveness proved to be quite effective.
But now it’s Ibaka and Lowry meshing as the main go-to combination.
“This is our second season-and-a-half playing together and now we know each other very well,” Ibaka said.
“Playing pick-and-roll with KLow makes the game so easy for me. The fact he can shoot threes, and I can roll and I can pop makes the game so easy for both of us.”
Lowry felt confident playing with Valanciunas, but he’s just now getting as comfortable with Ibaka.
“I think I know where he wants the ball,” Lowry said. “And I think him playing the five is a different position for him but it’s been working for him. I think he’s finally comfortable playing that position, understanding that the shots are going to come for him and he understands the spots. He’s been rolling, he’s been playing unbelievable, he’s been really good for us.”