Ibaka looks 'strong'

PerkinsFor3 · Post #1 » by **PerkinsFor3** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:27 am

http://www.dailythunder.com/2010/09/ser ... ks-strong/

Whoa...

I REALLY REALLY hope this guy will get 25+ minutes/game. Loved to see him play, especially against the Lakers.

Jimmy76 · Post #2 » by **Jimmy76** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:45 pm

That's not human...

wiff · Post #3 » by **wiff** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:26 pm

I bet that kid never gets laid.

fallacy · Post #4 » by **fallacy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:47 pm

I've been trying to tell you guys, he is a mini-dwight. They are the same height, same wingspan, ibaka is 20 pounds less, and 4 years younger. He most likely won't be as good as dwight, but they are pretty much the same body wise

Hobes · Post #5 » by **Hobes** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:56 am

It's crazy how similar he looks to Howard in that photo. Looking huge though, I'm expecting great things from Serge in the future.

wiff · Post #6 » by **wiff** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:43 pm

Joel Embust · Post #7 » by **Joel Embust** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 5:03 pm

wiff wrote:

Ibaka is lifting weights on that picture.

The Skyhook · Post #8 » by **The Skyhook** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:05 pm

God damn. I didn't know he was that cut.

Clangus · Post #9 » by **Clangus** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:27 am

Wow, I hope that translates to on court success!

x- · Post #10 » by x- » Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:45 pm

wiff wrote:

Dezmondballins3 · Post #11 » by **Dezmondballins3** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 3:00 am

if serge was strong as dwight he would be so raw! he already is but he could be strong starter on any team

wiff · Post #12 » by **wiff** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 3:09 am

Dezmondballins3 wrote:if serge was strong as dwight he would be so raw! he already is but he could be strong starter on any team

Huh??

PerkinsFor3 · Post #13 » by **PerkinsFor3** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:05 pm

Well, Wiff, if Serge was strong as Dwight he would be so raw. He already is but he could be strong starter on any team.

wiff · Post #14 » by **wiff** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:08 pm

Ibaka could be a strong starter on a team. He is going to start for the Thunder his coming season.

Dwights second year in the league he played 36.8 minutes a night. He averaged 15.8pts and 12.5rebs.

Last year as a rookie Ibaka played 18.1 minutes and pulled down 6.3pts and 5.4rebs a game.

Now I know this doesn't exactly translate but if you double his minutes and stats that's 12.6pts and 10.8rebs.

Is that not a solid starter?

Ibaka is going to prove to everyone this coming year that he is the real deal.

Post #15 » by **slick_watts** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 11:48 pm

Serge looks nice and lean but he's not as muscular / developed as Dwight Howard. I think the big difference is in core and lower body strength. Dwight is immovable, Serge gets pushed around quite a bit. Dwight's as much, if not more of an athlete, and also much stronger IMO. I get the feeling Serge is focusing a little more on body building than Howard who probably has a lot more functional strength.

Ibaka's a role player right now. Projecting him to 12 / 11 is just a shot in the dark, there's nothing that he's done that suggests he will be that productive next season...

That said he is looking good

wiff · Post #16 » by **wiff** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 3:10 am

slick_watts wrote:Ibaka's a role player right now. Projecting him to 12 / 11 is just a shot in the dark, there's nothing that he's done that suggests he will be that productive next season.

Really? I thought you were the stat guy Slick? I emplore you Slick to look up Ibaka's stats when he plays 24 minutes or more. His numbers are just shy of a double double.

Is that really nothing?

Now I know this off season you have been on this big "Ibaka can't box out" crusade, because of the Gasol put back.

But really all thing considered wouldn't that be tops on the list of things you'd want a rookie player to be bad at? That's an easy fixable problem. You can't really fix Green's T-Rex arms. You can't really fix Nonads vagina soft game. Westbrook is going to have to work for hours/days/weeks/months/years to improve his shot.

Effort fixes Ibaka lack of boxing out. And I'm sure the last play of the season has burned an imprint in his mind. I don't think he come back next year making the same easily correctable mistake of not boxing out.

Post #17 » by **slick_watts** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:50 pm

wiff wrote:Really? I thought you were the stat guy Slick? I emplore you Slick to look up Ibaka's stats when he plays 24 minutes or more. His numbers are just shy of a double double.

Is that really nothing?

Sure, it's something. Serge is a nice prospect, and can be productive. But 12 / 11 is serious productivity. Suggesting that Serge can get to that level after only putting up 12 / 11 once in his rookie season is too much for me. It wouldn't surprise me if he won a starting spot, and that in and of itself is amazing considering his status at this time last year.

BTW, using his #'s when he plays 24 minutes or more is misleading. Serge often earned big minutes when he played particularly well. So it's like saying if you ignore the games where he did not play well, this is what Serge did. Seeing that consistency is a big thing for a big guy like him, I don't think I like isolating that particular set of data...

wiff wrote:But really all thing considered wouldn't that be tops on the list of things you'd want a rookie player to be bad at? That's an easy fixable problem. You can't really fix Green's T-Rex arms. You can't really fix Nonads vagina soft game. Westbrook is going to have to work for hours/days/weeks/months/years to improve his shot.

Interesting Fact #1: Did you know the Thunder were a better defensive rebounding team with Nenad Krstic on the court (+1.2%), and much worse (-3.2%) with Serge Ibaka on the court?

Just because he's big, tall, and athletic doesn't mean it's an easily fixable problem. Plenty of guys like Serge (Tyrus Thomas comes to mind) rely on their hops and speed their whole career and don't really learn the fundamentals of positioning. That's something that Nenad does know (and Collison) and one of the reasons our defensive rebounding is better when he's on the court even though he does not grab a bunch of them himself.

Interesting Fact #2: Serge Ibaka played more minutes (1323) than anyone who has recorded 10 or fewer assists in an NBA season.

Maybe not a huge problem, but for a team with offensive continuity issues and a lot of ball stoppers in the front court, it's tough for me to imagine Serge accomodated in the starting lineup. Again, Krstic isn't great at this, Green isn't great at this, but they're both better than Serge by a decent amount.

wiff wrote:Effort fixes Ibaka lack of boxing out. And I'm sure the last play of the season has burned an imprint in his mind. I don't think he come back next year making the same easily correctable mistake of not boxing out.

If it was just effort, everyone would be boxing out. We've said these same words about countless big man prospects that haven't passed muster.

I think Serge will improve; he's young, seems like a hard worker, and the coaching staff is enamored with him. But I think he's got a lot of issues with his game that will take more than one offseason to correct. It's hard not to get excited about our young guys, though, because in an ideal world you can trot out Aldrich-Ibaka-Durant-Harden-Westbrook and have all your bases covered. Let's hope for the ideal world!

ChrisTheFuturePaul · Post #18 » by **ChrisTheFuturePaul** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:19 am

Muscle doesnt equal skill, and ultimately its his skill level that will define his career path, does he have good offensive/defensive I.Q ? Is he committed to learning aswell as working out? I hope he does become a starting quality player, but theres more to it than physical strength.

Canomad · Post #19 » by **Canomad** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 12:43 am

the muscle will help him not get bullied in the paint by other big men creating more oppurtunities for him. i like serge and think he will only get better. this time last year you guys didnt think he would even play for you. to me thats a testament to his skill level and how much he wants to improve. you have a gem that needs polished a bit.