By John Denton
Dec. 5, 2016
WASHINGTON D.C. – Often, supporting players on contending NBA teams are a bigger mystery than the league’s occasional enforcement of travelling or the blatant disregard for foul calls in the final seconds of tight games.
Is the supporting standout made to look better than he actually is because the superstar player hides his flaws and relieves all of the pressure? Or is it a case of the supporting player having to sacrifice his game so much because of the star’s immense shadow and simply needs an escape to grow his game?
Consider the curious case of Serge Ibaka, a player who almost simultaneously benefitted and suffered from having to play with megastars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook the past seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. There’s certainly no shame in being a third wheel to either of those two, and often Ibaka was the best in the NBA playing that complementary role on an OKC team that reached the NBA Finals once and the West Finals two other times.
Ibaka’s chance to stand on his own and show what he could truly do as the leader of a team came in June with his trade to the Orlando Magic. Following a somewhat shaky start by Ibaka – one that had to have Orlando briefly wondering if the big man was simply a product of Durant and Westbrook’s greatness – the 6-foot-10, 235-pound power forward has started to blossom into a two-way force for the Magic.
These days, on the heels of another do-everything, stat-stuffing night in a Magic victory, Ibaka looks more and more like the player who is delighted to be getting the chance to lead his own team. To wit: In 21 games with the Magic (9-12), Ibaka has already led the team in scoring six times. He led the Thunder in scoring just 10 times in 524 games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
As Ibaka has taken off as a shot-swatting rim-protector and a dead-eye shooter, so have the suddenly surging Magic. They’ve won two in a row and three of four and their nine-night road trip could be undefeated if not for a late collapse in Memphis four days ago. Orlando hopes to finish out its arduous five-game trip with a win on Tuesday against the Wizards (6-12) in Washington.
Head coach Frank Vogel made a major lineup change five games ago, and one of the designs he had in mind was getting the ball into Ibaka’s hands more. The big man has delivered, and in Sunday’s 98-92 defeat of Detroit he had 21 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three steals, three assists and two 3-pointers. That performance rammed home something Vogel is proud to tell anyone who will listen.
``There’s no question he’s an elite big man. He’s one of the best two-way big men in the game,’’ Vogel said emphatically. ``There’s no other way to put it with the way that he shoots the ball from the perimeter, he’s scoring in the post and he’s really trusting the pass. And he’s a force on the defensive end.’’
While some might be surprised that Ibaka has morphed into being the leader of the Magic, forward Jeff Green is taking it all in and laughing. Green was on many of those Thunder teams with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka, and he always thought that someday the versatile power forward would show the NBA how dynamic of a talent he is if he ever got his shot.
``I already knew what he was capable of doing,’’ Green said. ``The personnel that we had in OKC, it was always kind of hard for him to ever really show what he could do even though he was such a great talent. But now he’s stepping out of those shadows and he’s presenting himself as one of the best two-way players in this league.’’
Is he ever? Over the last 10 games, Ibaka is averaging 16.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.3 assists while shooting a stellar 52.9 percent from the floor. Those numbers better his season totals of 14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 0.9 assists while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from 3-point range. At this pace, Ibaka could post the best season of his NBA career – something the Magic were hoping for when they shipped three players to OKC for him on draft night last June.
Defensively, he’s been a quick-off-the-floor, shot-swatting demon, helping the Magic become one of the most difficult teams in the league to score on from the inside. In his last 12 games, Ibaka has turned away 29 shots. Four times, he’s swatted four shots in a game – and many have been accompanied by a move where he raises both arms in the air and his points his thumbs down.
To his credit, Ibaka said his focus is not on numbers, but instead wins for a Magic team that has strong designs on making the playoffs this season.
``The most important thing is not my stats; it’s me being happy about us getting `Ws,’^’’ Ibaka said following Sunday’s stellar showing by the Magic in Detroit. ``We’ve been waiting for wins like this for a long time. What’s most important for me now is knowing that when the team wins, everybody looks good.’’
Unlike his days in OKC – when he was often forced to stand in the corner and wait for kick-out passes from Durant and Westbrook – the Magic’s fortunes seem to rest heavily on Ibaka’s shoulders. In their nine wins, Ibaka has averaged 18.4 points per game on 57.8 percent shooting, while he’s scored just 12 points on 41.8 percent shooting in the 12 losses.
In Orlando, where there’s a well-balanced offense and five players average double figures or right at it, Ibaka is still far more of a focal point than he was for much of his time in OKC. He’s getting 11.9 shots a game for the season and the number has jumped to 12.5 shot attempts since Vogel made the lineup change five games ago.
At this rate, Ibaka would take more than 1,000 shots for the season – topping the 978 he got in 81 games over the 2013-14 season in Oklahoma City. Ibaka’s Magic teammates are giving him the chance to spread his wings and shine and he’s certainly taking advantage of it.
``I’m getting there and I’m getting better every day,’’ he said. ``My teammates trust me, and the coaches do too, and that’s a big key. I always appreciate my teammates for their confidence. They try to get me the ball early in the game, like (Sunday) night. That’s something that’s given me a lot of confidence to play this game.’’
That confidence is showing in how Ibaka has scored when given the opportunities and he’s been a playmaker when defenses focus too much on him. His four assists on Sunday were proof of that – none of them prettier than his hard drive down the lane and hand-off to center Nikola Vucevic for a layup that seemed to break the spirit of the Pistons.
Ibaka said it’s important for him to set a tone where everyone on the Magic feels included in the offense. That wasn’t always the case for him earlier in his career, but he knows that it is important for him to be a leader now.
``I don’t have a choice because that’s how we have to play,’’ Ibaka said of a Magic team that had 23 assists on Sunday. ``If you think somebody is open you have to make a play for your teammates. That’s what we’ve been focused on these last few games and we have to keep it going.’’
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