Toronto Raptors: 5 goals for Serge Ibaka in 2017-18

Last season the Toronto Raptors found themselves in deep water before acquiring Serge Ibaka, who was key in turning their season around. Here are five goals for Ibaka in 2017-18.

The Toronto Raptors overall had a successful 2016-17 season, and the addition of Serge Ibaka for the final 24 games of the season helped them finish strong. For instance, 20 games prior to acquiring Ibaka, the Raptors went 9-11. The next 20 games with Ibaka (the 20th being their 78th game of the year) the Raptors went 13-7 and would finish their final four games of the season 4-0.

Serge Ibaka is a capable, do-it-all kind of forward with solid speed, which is impressive for his wide frame at 6’10”. He has a wide variety of ways to just get it done and exhibits great awareness in the paint. Ibaka especially stands out with his ability to hit from the mid-range and even 3-point range with regularity, which tends to spread the court.

Although 23 regular season games is a small sample size, he produced decent numbers. He improved to a career-best 39.8 percent from beyond the arc in that sample size. However, Serge had dipped to a career-low 45.9 percent from the field in the same span of time. Another critique could be his suspect decline in defense over the past couple of years. Ibaka had a Defensive Rating of 98 during 2011-12, yet slowly regressed into a 109 rating before becoming a Raptor.

Not all is bad, as the Raptors made a solid playoff push. But they were embarressed in their postseason appearence, being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dethroning the King of the East is a stretch and even more so after losing P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson in free agency. While it may be viewed as a setback in an already weakened Eastern Conference, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan should help keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here are five goals for Serge Ibaka as training camp wraps up and the 2017-18 regular season approaches.