RealGM

At the rating he's developing, do you guys see him becoming the third best player on the team in a year?

Do you think he will soon be a permanent starting C, or is he still more suited to play about 28 minutes off the bench?

I hope he starts at power forward playing 30-35 minutes a night for the forseeable future

Has to work a bit on awareness but he's coming along and I'd already call him the third best player

I don't like Ibaka at center but I think he could do well starting at PF. I think he will take that spot from Green if not this season, then by next year when Green is no longer on the team.

Kid is turning into a real player. He keeps hitting those 15ft jumpers he is going to be a tough customer. If he can had a consistent hook to go along with his jumper he's going to be tough on both ends of the floor.

I've watched recent two games without Green, Ibaka is playing hard and defensively. But I believe if he can't develop some reliable offensive skill (kinda like Haslem who always makes jumpers around 10-15 feet), there's little chance he'll replace Green as the starting PF because currently there are only two guys on the team who can score without an efficient team offense scheme.

IanChang wrote:I've watched recent two games without Green, Ibaka is playing hard and defensively. But I believe if he can't develop some reliable offensive skill (kinda like Haslem who always makes jumpers around 10-15 feet), there's little chance he'll replace Green as the starting PF because currently there are only two guys on the team who can score without an efficient team offense scheme.

Ibaka has an ORTG of 135.5, third best in the NBA. The offense performs very well with him on the court.

slick_watts wrote:

IanChang wrote:I've watched recent two games without Green, Ibaka is playing hard and defensively. But I believe if he can't develop some reliable offensive skill (kinda like Haslem who always makes jumpers around 10-15 feet), there's little chance he'll replace Green as the starting PF because currently there are only two guys on the team who can score without an efficient team offense scheme.

Ibaka has an ORTG of 135.5, third best in the NBA. The offense performs very well with him on the court.

Serious? Stats don't tell everything. In most ocassion I saw it was KD or Russ' one man show. Ibaka's screen was not bad but he didn't roll well, he couldn't play P&P, nor was he a good passer from high post. I have to admit that Krstic is the only big guy who knows how to play half court offense. Hope Ibaka learns more in Green's absence.

Ibaka is a better mid-range shooter than Green and his size at PF lets us play honest defense. I'd rather Green come off the bench at this point...

Well, I mean, mid range jumper is one thing Ibaka can work on. Green is more verstile but I agree he is not a solution at PF. I mean, currently we still need Green to share some possessions from KD and Russ, so he is still in starting linup that's an expediency. I'd be very pleased to see Green on the bench, but that's when Ibaka develop to be a more mature and reliable player.

At this point i don't know if were going to see IBAKA play more PF, if Brooks keeps on putting him on C duties....

Ibaka should be Starting PF , keeping Green on the bench with Harden ( When Green is healthy) !
Our bench play sucks ! He would be a rebounding compliment for Krstic !

West - Sef - Durant - Ibaka - Krstic
Maynor / Ivey - Harden / Cook - Green /Peterson / Harden - Green/ Collison / White - Aldrich / Mullens

teddykgb31 wrote:At the rating he's developing, do you guys see him becoming the third best player on the team in a year?

Do you think he will soon be a permanent starting C, or is he still more suited to play about 28 minutes off the bench?

I see him becoming an all star within 4 years if that answer your question.

His natural position is PF and that's where i think he should get the more playing time. with the current configuration of the team it might be the better choice playing him 20-25 minutes as a C but looking long term you should get a starting caliber center. I don't know if Aldrich can reach that level, and obviously Krstic or Collison ain't THE ANSWER either.

slick_watts wrote:Ibaka is a better mid-range shooter than Green and his size at PF lets us play honest defense. I'd rather Green come off the bench at this point...

Yep, he's always had a good mid range game, ever since he was playing in spanish 2nd division with Hospitalet, it wasn't unusual even watch him taking some 3 pointers.