How Nikola Vucevic could benefit from Serge Ibaka’s presence

If Enes Kanter‘s performance alongside Serge Ibaka last season is any indication, Nikola Vucevic and the Orlando Magic could benefit greatly from Ibaka’s presence in 2017.

Nikola Vucevic and Enes Kanter have always been considered similar players. They are two great offensive players with less-than-stellar defensive reputations.

But Nikola Vucevic and Enes Kanter are even more similar than they seem at face value.

Despite Vucevic receiving about nine more minutes per game than Kanter did, the 7-footers’ numbers per 36 minutes were strikingly similar last season.

Per Basketball-Reference.com’s player comparison tool, their rebounding (Vucevic averages 11.7 rebounds per 36 minutes to Kanter’s 11.4 in their careers), shooting (51.1 percent for Vucevic, 52.6 percent for Kanter) and scoring averages (17.4 points per 36 minutes for Vucevic, 18.1 for Kanter) were nearly identical.

Defensively, Vucevic’s shot blocking numbers were notably higher than Kanter’s (1.0 to 0.7 per 36 minutes). Vucevic rates better as a defender with 12.0 career defensive win shares and a 0.9 defensive box plus-minus to Kanter’s 7.1 career defensive win shares and career -2.2 defensive box plus-minus. Vucevic has established himself as a better defender in their five-year careers.

But taking a deeper look at their rim-protecting abilities might prove that to be a little misleading.

Per Nylon Calculus, opponents shot 51.1 percent at the rim against Kanter and 52.5 percent against Vucevic when he contested their shots. On the other hand, Vucevic saved around .13 more points per 36 minutes than Kanter did, according to this metric.

Neither of those are significant gaps, but it goes to show that their difference in shot-blocking ability is slightly offset by overall defense.

Kanter was marginally more effective than Vucevic at defending the rim and disrupting shots, but most significantly, these numbers show how they offer almost identical levels and forms of defensive production.

These two players are similar.

Both are offense-inclined centers who can stretch the floor, finish on the pick-and-roll and score in a multitude of other ways to compensate for what they might lack on defense.

They do now though have one thing in common — Serge Ibaka.

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Kanter with something of the hope of covering up his defensive mistakes with a strong rim-protecting big next to him — like Ibaka.

The Orlando Magic now hope for the same thing with this duo in 2017.

With Vucevic and Kanter having such similar skill sets, diving into Kanter’s numbers with Ibaka on the floor might give a sneak peek at how Vucevic’s game might look this season and whether Ibaka can really make a huge difference defensively.

When Kanter played alongside Serge Ibaka, not only did his scoring improve, but so did the team’s offense.

With Ibaka on the floor, Kanter’s true shooting percentage improved from 62.6 percent to 68.1 percent, his effective field goal percentage improved from 58.3 percent to 62.9 percent, and his overall field goal percentage from 57.6 percent to 62.7 percent according to NBA Wowy.

Lineups with both Kanter and Ibaka were better in almost every offensive metric than lineups with only one of the two players. Those metrics include points per possession, points per shot, effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and more.

With Ibaka on the floor, Kanter shot better from almost every spot on the floor and so did the team as a whole.

These patterns can be partially attributed to how Ibaka made it easier for Kanter to finish on the pick-and-roll.

Take a look at the video below. At 1:35 and 2:15, Ibaka lurks on the perimeter, forcing an opposing big out to step out of the paint giving Kanter an opening to finish.

The same thing happens again here (in the video below, again). At 1:30 and 2:00, Kanter is given a better look at the basket even though opposing defenders don’t necessarily play right up on Ibaka.

Because of Ibaka’s versatility, reasonable credibility as an outside threat and ability to post up inside, Kanter was allowed more space to score in more ways.

The pairing was excellent on offense, but left a lot to be desired on defense compared to other lineups the Thunder used. They forced fewer turnovers and allowed more points for the most part, according to NBAWowy.com and Basketball-Reference.com.

The hope is Ibaka can help unlock more of Vucevic’s offense. Surprisingly though, Ibaka did not help Kanter’s defensive deficiencies when they were on the floor together. It did not help the Thunder on that end.

The question is can it be different in Orlando?

With Bismack Biyombo on the roster, Frank Vogel can turn to one of the most skilled rim protectors in the NBA to offset what a Ibaka-Vucevic pairing might cost the team in net productivity.

Having Ibaka, Vucevic and Biyombo at his disposal, Vogel can go with a high-octane offense, a lockdown defense or a more balanced frontcourt depending on the opponent.

Next: Transforming Serge Ibaka into a playmaker

If Ibaka’s skill set can translate, Vucevic could not only become a more productive pick-and-roll finisher (after finishing in the 33rd percentile last season), but his already-diverse scoring arsenal could become even more lethal.