Next Season Scouting Report: Serge Ibaka
By Joshua Lea
With training camp coming up on September 29th, the scouting report now shifts toward the starting five for Oklahoma City. One of the more intriguing mysteries is the game of Serge Ibaka and his willingness to stay on the block.
There are plenty of questions involving the Oklahoma City Thunder this upcoming season. How’s Billy Donovan going to far with an NBA team? How healthy will Kevin Durant be? Will Dion Waiters adjust to a bench role? However, one question that really stands out is how Serge Ibaka will adapt with a re-tooled Thunder lineup.
With Ibaka’s birthday recently passing, I thought it would be fitting to break down Serge’s game and expectations for him this upcoming season. He is huge factor for the success for the thunder. The Congo native has displayed absolute professionalism on and off the court. Last season, his playing time was cut short due to a knee injury that kept him out for the last month of the regular season. However, looking forward to this season, there are questions.
Will Ibaka return to his former self on the court? Will he remain in the post and be the caliber player that Oklahoma City needs to propel them toward a championship? Last season we all watched as he began to increase in taking 3-point shots; perhaps not at an alarming rate but enough to make one question the love affair that big men are starting to have with the 3-point shot.
Last season, Serge attempted 205 3-point shots, 145 more than he took in 2013-14 season. While he averaged 3.0 attempts per game last season, he’s shooting 37 percent from long-range. It’s been said that Serge hasn’t been the same player he was early in his career ever since the 2013 NBA Playoffs. Particularly during the series versus the Houston Rockets, Serge missed a potential game-winning put-back during the closing seconds of Game 4.
Then, of course, this questionable call by officials as an Ibaka shot at the buzzer is ruled late versus Memphis during the 2014 NBA Playoffs first-round matchup:
While those shots are rare incidents, we have slowly seen Serge move outside of the restricted area following the Houston series. When Ibaka is in the paint, he’s dominant. He can defend, rebound, and move with the defense as quickly as the offense. These are all key elements in his game.
Last season, he averaged 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots per game, down from the 2013-14 season. This can only be explained because he has rotated out of the paint to the 3-point line. This has led to Steven Adams blossoming over the last two years as well.
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Next season, I would hope that Coach Billy Donovan keeps Serge glued to the post. While that would limit Ibaka’s ability to space the floor, there is the possibility that Enes Kanter might be an option. As written about here, Kanter explored the 3-point shot to some success last season. It’s possible that role could expand next season under Donovan.
Kanter and Ibaka will definitely be connected next season as “Air Congo” will have to bring a defense presence to compensate for Enes’ shortcomings in that area. Serge could very well be a double-double guy next season. His rebounding has to improve. If his rebounding returns to his 2012-2013 numbers, everything else will fall into place.
Serge is an important piece to the Oklahoma City puzzle next season. Oklahoma City wouldn’t have half of the success that they have had without Serge. But, Serge has to remain in the post. Defenses love a 4-guard offense, due to the fact that there is only one offensive player in the paint to rebound.
Personally, I would rather see Oklahoma City run a 2-1-2-zone offense with emphasis on the pick-and-roll. Serge could set screens and roll to the basket for the easy assist to Kanter or the easy two-pointer. It will be interesting to see just how Coach Donovan uses Serge Ibaka next season.