By John Denton
Oct. 17, 2016
ORLANDO – Often a stand-in-the-corner floor-spacer or merely a break-glass-if-necessary offensive option in Oklahoma City, Serge Ibaka has been given the green light in Orlando and he’s showing what he can do as a scorer.
How dramatic is the difference between the Ibaka who almost always had to defer to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook while playing for the Thunder and the one the Magic are now leaning heavily on for offense. Consider these numbers:
- Last season in OKC, Ibaka’s usage rate – the percentage of offensive possessions that a player uses while on the court – dipped to the lowest it has been since 2011-12 at 17.6 percent. And Ibaka saw the ball even less in the playoffs as his usage rate plummeted to 12.9 percent.
- Ibaka accounted for 16.8 percent of the Thunder’s points during the 2015-16 regular season – his lowest total since his third year in the NBA (2011-12) at 16 percent. Similarly, Ibaka accounted for just 15.3 percent of the Thunder’s playoff points last spring.
- Now in Orlando, where the Magic plan to feature the multi-talented 6-foot-10, 235-pound power forward/center on both ends of the floor, Ibaka’s offensive numbers have already taken huge jumps. Sure, it’s just a small sample size as he’s played just three games because of an early injury, but Ibaka is already accounting for 19.5 percent of Orlando’s offensive possessions when he’s on the floor and he’s scored 30.4 percent of their points.
``It’s fun and I appreciate that my teammates are looking for me out there,’’ said Ibaka, who is averaging 17 points on 59.4 percent shooting and 66.7 percent accuracy from the 3-point line. ``And I appreciate the coach and that they are getting the ball to me to get my confidence earlier (in games). I’m just still getting my legs back so that I can get better.’’
Orlando (1-4) heads into Tuesday night’s preseason game in Miami against the Heat (3-2) knowing that it can count on Ibaka for offensive production. The Magic are loaded with gritty, defensive-minded players and have tried to use this preseason to figure out where they can generate more offense. Ibaka, all the way back from the bruised knee he suffered early in camp, has shown himself capable as a scorer even though that wasn’t necessarily a role he was in much over the past seven seasons with the Thunder.
When the Magic acquired Ibaka in a draft-night trade last June, head coach Frank Vogel was eager to explore the seven-year veteran’s often-suppressed offensive skills. What he’s found so far is that Ibaka is a more-than-capable shooter, a good sealer inside against smaller defenders and a hard cutter able to finish lob passes for dunks.
``A lot of this year is going to be about putting guys in certain spots and let them show what they can do and Serge is really stepping up,’’ Vogel said. ``When we got him we felt like we were going to explore doing more with him offensively than what they were doing in OKC and the last couple of games he’s been fantastic.’’
Has he ever? The big man throttled the Indiana Pacers for 19 points, 17 rebounds and three 3-pointers last Friday night in an Orlando victory. Then, on Sunday night against Atlanta, Ibaka poured in a game-high 25 points by making nine of 15 shots, one 3-pointer and all six of his free throws.
``He’s really good at what he does and you’ve got to give him credit. When the guy has it going you have to stay with him and that’s what we have done,’’ said fellow Magic big man Bismack Biyombo, who teamed with Ibaka to swat shots on three straight possessions at one point in Sunday’s game. ``He just has to keep building on it.’’
Added Magic point guard Elfrid Payton, who has assists on three of Ibaka’s field goals thus far: ``He’s a matchup problem for just about everybody shooting that mid-range shot really well. We’re definitely looking for him now.’’
That hasn’t been the case much of the past three years while living in the significant shadows of Durant and Westbrook. On pick plays, it was often useless for Ibaka to roll down the lane because of Westbrook’s tendency to play with blinders on when driving in a straight line to the rim. Very seldom was there a chance to get the ball on one side and go to work as those duties often fell on Durant’s shoulders. And with the Thunder intent on using Enes Kanter and Steven Adams more in recent years, Ibaka had fewer post-up chances and he was often pushed to the perimeter.
Last season, Ibaka had just 16 field goals that came off back-to-the-basket moves. A whopping 58 percent of his shots came from outside of 15 feet of the basket.
Over the last two seasons, Ibaka shot 47.6 percent in 2014-15 and 47.9 percent in 2015-16 – the worst accuracy of his career. He averaged just 12.6 points a game last season, down dramatically from the career-best 15.1 points per game he averaged in 2013-14.
Now, the Magic are not only looking for Ibaka more in the offense, but they are force-feeding him the ball when other teams try and guard him with a smaller forward. Twice on Sunday, Ibaka sealed off 6-foot-2 guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and scored on easy baskets inside as the Hawks were attempting to play small ball. Also, there’s this: Whereas just 25 percent of Ibaka’s field goals were unassisted last season in OKC, 42.1 percent of them so far this preseason have come after Orlando has passed him the ball and let him go to work against the defense.
In this preseason, Magic big men Nikola Vucevic (two), Aaron Gordon (one) and Biyombo (one) have accounted for four of the assists on Ibaka baskets. Last season, Westbrook (197 assists) or Durant (95 assists) set up most of Ibaka’s shots – but usually only after they were trapped by defenses.
Whereas Ibaka could have been irate over getting traded by a contending team to one still steadily building, he instead looks at his place in Orlando as a major opportunity. Finally, he might be able to show just how talented of a scorer he can be when he’s a focal point in the Orlando offense.
``It’s not that I am necessarily looking to (score), but it’s just in the flow,’’ said Ibaka, who has eight unassisted field goals already this preseason. ``It’s something where we’re not really looking for (one scorer); it’s just that my teammates are doing their job when the other team is playing small ball and I’m using my size. Or they are finding me in pick-and-roll and that’s why I am getting these opportunities.’’
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