National Post (National Edition)
Ibaka won’t discuss his Cavs scrap
Raptors coach left to parse three-game ban
Acouple of days later, Serge Ibaka still didn’t want to talk about his punchup in Cleveland with Marquese Chriss.
That left head coach Nick Nurse to reflect on the incident and the ensuing threegame suspension handed down by the NBA.
“It’s not great that this happens. Obviously, it’s not great, the ramifications of the punishment. And it’s not great from the big picture,” Nurse said after a light practice that Ibaka and most of the veterans didn’t participate in on Wednesday.
“I think those things happen in such weird fashion. It isn’t like, ‘ Jeez, I told him be- fore the game not to do that.’ That’s not really the way it works,” Nurse said.
“We’ve just got to try to keep an eye on it. I always look at, with everything, what was my role in that. Could I have done something different? I called that play. I’m wishing I wouldn’t have called that play (that saw Ibaka and Chriss get tangled up). There was one second to go. I wish I hadn’t have called that play and just eaten it. But that’s just not our style. We just don’t do it that way. I guess there were a few things going on with those guys earlier in the game. You’ve just got to be hyper-vigilant and do all you can do to help. That’s all we can do,” Nurse said.
Nurse plans to give Montreal’s Chris Boucher a shot at centre, while also playing Pascal Siakam some minutes there. According to The Athletic, the team will add centre Eric Moreland, who was cut after training camp, on a 10-day contract ahead of Saturday’s requirement to get up to a 14-man roster. Marc Gasol will take over the starting role, perhaps for good, and will get to continue to work on his game, which Gasol has admitted needs some tinkering.
But losing Ibaka is tough. “It’s something he’s done really well this year, I thought, emotionally, just in general. He’s just had a great season,” Nurse said. “He’s been a good teammate and all of that stuff. It’s a little bit of a bummer that he’s got to go through it and we’ve got to go through it. It’s just another little thing we’ve got to handle and move on from it and learn from it if we can and look at the positives” — such as Gasol getting “a little more run and a little more rhythm and Serge (getting) a little more rest. There are some very, very slim silver linings there. That’s the way we’ve got to take them and view it and we’ve got to go play.”
Gasol’s minutes have been way down since his arrival in Toronto and his timing has been off at times as he adjusts. This gives him a chance to find a rhythm and grow accustomed to his teammates and their tendencies.
“It’s a work in progress,” Gasol said. “You take two steps forward and one back and you just stay with it and be patient and don’t get frustrated, which could be easy at times. You keep working through things, communicating, keep a positive mindset and continue to work. It’s pretty simple.”
Nurse said veteran guards Kyle Lowry and Danny Green should be OK to face the Lakers Thursday, though their ankles were sore after the Cleveland game.
“I think there’s a number of guys with some nagging injuries, but I don’t think anything to keep anybody out but we’ll see for sure tomorrow,” Nurse said.
Backup point guard Fred Vanvleet continues to progress and Nurse said he could return to the lineup by Monday ’s game against New York.
IT’S JUST ANOTHER LITTLE THING WE’VE GOT TO HANDLE