Gasol gets full shot minus Ibaka
Centre’s suspension gives deadline pickup better chance to fit in
Sometimes decisions are made for you, and Raptors coach Nick Nurse can now concentrate on Marc Gasol as his starting centre for at least a week.
With Serge Ibaka about to begin a three-game suspension for throwing punches with Cleveland’s Marquese Chriss on Monday night, Nurse no longer has to decide nightly which of Gasol or Ibaka will start.
It’s going to be Gasol. He’s going to play far more each night than he has, and that’s fine with the coach.
“I think maybe he needs some of this extended run here to kind of get unleashed, maybe,” Nurse said of Gasol after the Raptors practised on Wednesday afternoon. “Again, he’s making a lot of good decisions. He’s getting to a lot of spots.
“He’s not finishing a lot of things we think he can finish — even the three-ball. A lot of post moves he’s making fairly easily, and they’re not going in. Maybe we can get him a little bit more rhythm and a little bit more volume of attempts, and play through him a little bit more.”
Gasol has played less than 23 minutes a game since joining the Raptors just over a month ago, and while he’s had moments of clarity with a new team, there’s been inconsistency in his play.
He should play 10 or 12 more minutes a game over at least the next three, and that’s got to get him more in tune with all his teammates.
“Regardless of the minutes that you play, your energy level has got to be really high and (you have to) be really assertive in doing those things,” Gasol said. “Knowing you’re going to have big minutes, maybe you play with more patience and read things a little slower.”
Ibaka declined to speak with reporters after Wednesday’s practice. He also offered comment only through a team spokesperson on Monday, saying something was said that caused the confrontation with Chriss.
Nurse said Ibaka hadn’t addressed the full team by Wednesday afternoon, but added that he had the squad’s full support.
“The message I sent to our guys was: Let’s stick behind him, you know, and show him some love,” Nurse said. “He’s an important part of our team.”
It was the third time in less than three seasons with Toronto that Ibaka has been involved in an on-court incident where punches were thrown.
“I think those things happen in such weird fashion,” Nurse said. “It isn’t like, ‘Jeez, I told him before the game not to do that.’ That’s not really the way it works. 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.”
Ibaka will miss games Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday in Detroit and Monday at home to the New York Knicks.
Nurse said the backup centre duties, in limited time, might fall to rookie Chris Boucher and Pascal Siakam. But make no mistake, the most important thing in the next three games is loading up the minutes and responsibility that Gasol has.
“It’s a work in progress,” he 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.”