Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Breaking down the Orlando Magic’s congested frontcourt

By Ricky Scricca

Feb 3, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) fouls Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) on a shot attempt during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 3, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) fouls Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) on a shot attempt during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder, Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the third quarter in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Serge Ibaka

Although his numbers have been declining more than they have been improving in the past few years, Ibaka is still an impactful player on both ends of the court. He can block shots, finish on the pick and roll and space the floor shooting from outside.

At face value, his acquisition and roster presence is extremely sensible. But the real question lies in whether he can improve his numbers from the past couple seasons or if he will regress even further.

According to NBA.com, Ibaka’s defense last season caused his opponents’ field goal percentage to drop by 0.9 percentage points on average. But when his targets shot from the 3-point line, their field goal percentage was actually better than average.

For most players, these would be exceptionally good numbers anyways, but Ibaka is not most players.

In 2015, his opponents’ field goal percentage was 5.5 percentage points lower and players shot at significantly lower clips from every spot on the court when he defended them.

That makes last year’s numbers a huge regression, especially in his ability to defend outside — a huge red flag for a team that needs its bigs to be defensive threats when they switch onto guards.

On the offensive end, if he can continue to shoot 3-pointers with reasonable consistency, drawing out opposing bigs to the perimeter could allow the Magic scorers to find openings and drive inside rather than having to settle for outside shots.

There is some reason for optimism here.

Decreases in his usage rate in the past couple years have correlated with decreases in general productivity on both offense and defense. This might not necessarily be causation at work. But he certainly would not be the first player who needs early touches to get himself going.

Ibaka’s ability to play a solid stretch-4 and to dominate the paint at the 5 make him an ideal complementary piece on both ends of the court for Vucevic, Biyombo and Gordon.

Without two MVP candidates on his team anymore, his usage rate is likely to increase in Orlando. Hopefully that will spark his numbers a little bit.

Versatility is key to an effective Frank Vogel defense, and Ibaka should provide just that.

Next: Aaron Gordon