AbeVigodaLive wrote:Q12543 wrote:CoolBreeze44 wrote:What kind of impact did Ibaka have on the Raptors this year? I look at that team where they were last year in the playoffs and compare it to the current unit. Is he really worth a huge deal that's going to limit your flexibility moving forward?
More damning to me is the lack of impact he had defensively on Orlando. They actually got worse from the year prior.
Admittedly, I haven't watched Ibaka with Orlando or Toronto. May be the eye test suggests that he's still a top defender, but the stuff on paper doesn't show him to be the top notch defender he perhaps once was with OKC a few years ago.
He's not the rim protector he once was. But he showed a new side of effective defender last year in the playoffs vs. GSW when he was switching onto guys all over the court of various sizes.
The Orlando situation was a mess. They were extremely good early on defense. They lagged on D later in the year. I think it was part of a concerted effort to improve a woeful offense... and something had to give defensively to do it. Plus, it was a badly formed team. They were created to play bully ball in a pace and space league. Dumb.
As for his impact in Toronto... I don't know the stats. But I do know the team went 14 - 7 down the stretch without its best player in the lineup.
Personally, I don't think he's worth $25+M... but he's still a very good complementary player.
The ability to switch onto smaller players and contain them is a big freakin' deal to me. Khans mentioned it about Trisitan Thompson's value last year in the playoffs. It's a real weak spot for Dieng and why he often sat when teams went smaller and spaced things out. It's also why Ryan Anderson (my poster child of the Wolves poor defensive execution) was able to launch nearly 60 3's against the Wolves in only 4 games. We would do the old hedge and contain strategy on Harden, while Anderson would space out and get an open 3. Dumb. You have to switch high ball screens involving Harden and Anderson. The only way you can do that is if you have a big man capable of guarding Harden in isolation. It's why Milsap, Gibson, and perhaps Ibaka would be an upgrade to Dieng.