Toronto Raptors: How Serge Ibaka fits into the culture change

The Toronto Raptors seem committed to changing their style of play on offense. In this new series of articles, I’ll look at how each projected starter can fit into that “culture change.” Here, we’ll examine Serge Ibaka.

Last Friday, I wrote about what Toronto Raptors fans could expect from Jonas Valanciunas as the franchise commences its “culture change.” The basic idea? Valanciunas is a pick-and-roll player stuck on a team trying to play a more complex, movement-based offense.

One of three things will happen for Valanciunas: He’ll either develop into a competent ball-mover, come off the bench or restrict the culture change from fully happening. Those same scenarios don’t quite apply to Serge Ibaka, but he is another puzzling case for Raptors coach Dwane Casey.

The newly re-signed big man is basically a stretch-4, and last season, he shot a career-high 39.1 percent from three on 4.0 attempts per game, both career highs. You can place him on the weak-side around a pick-and-roll or involve him the main action and have him pop to the three-point line.

Yet, for a player with a big reputation, he doesn’t add much on offense beyond shooting. Over half of Ibaka’s shot attempts last season were catch-and-shoot jumpers, and he lacks any sort of playmaking verve, having never averaged more than one assist per game in a season. On the block, his only real move is an inefficient turnaround jumper, which explains his 41st percentile mark on post-ups with the Raptors.

All that is fine. Shooters are always useful, whether an offense is a whirl of cuts and hand-offs or an endless barrage of isos. Ibaka’s limitations just mean he is pushed to the periphery of an offense when other, better options are around.

That shouldn’t change. Ibaka has been in the league eight years and it’s unlikely he’ll suddenly morph into James Johnson. The less Ibaka handles the ball, the more effective he is.

This fact doesn’t bode well for a culture change based on ball movement and offensive diversity. It’s tough to take any kind of playmaking burden off Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan when both frontcourt players are black holes. It’s not impossible, though.

Here, for instance, Orlando runs a motion-heavy horns set that gets Ibaka an in-rhythm jumper. Step back a few more feet and he has an open three:

Other times, the Raptors can weaponize Ibaka directly and run him off screens like a guard. In this clip from 2016, Andre Roberson sets a pindown for the big man to get him an open corner jumper:

Ibaka also thrives in transition, often beating opposing bigs down the floor and intelligently finding space to receive the ball for an easy basket. If Toronto chooses to run and gun, he’s a fit.

Many of these changes, however, work best with Ibaka as the lone big. The Raptors have already tried an offense with Valanciunas under the basket or playing as the roll man and Ibaka spacing the floor. It didn’t work. Toronto scored a “meh” 105.3 points per 100 possessions with that pair on the court.