Kevin Love commented that Serge Ibaka made the Toronto Raptors a different team than what the Cleveland Cavaliers faced last year in the Eastern Conference Finals. After watching Game 1, is Love right?
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Kevin Love claims that Serge Ibaka will be a difference-maker that the Cleveland Cavaliers need to account for in their series against the Toronto Raptors.
Ibaka replaces Bismack Biyombo in the Raptors playoff lineup from last year. Let us compare.
2016-17 Serge Ibaka vs. 2015-16 Biyombo Biyombo (playoffs only)
First, in a bit of irony, Biyombo and Ibaka both started the 2016-17 season playing for the Orlando Magic. The Raptors decided to trade for Ibaka after their small-ish lineup, with rookie Pascal Siakim starting at power forward, was not working super-well in terms of spacing, defending the paint and rebounding.
Through seven playoff games, Ibaka is averaging 13.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three-point range and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. He has a plus/minus of -2.7 points possessions, meaning the Raptors get outscored by 2.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. They get outscored by 7.5 points per 100 possessions with him off the court.
In the 20 playoff games that Biyombo played in for the Raptors in 2016, he averaged 6.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on 58.0 percent shooting from the field and 59.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His plus/minus was -4.1 points per 100 possessions. They were outscored by 4.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the court but 9.5 points per 100 possessions with him off the court.
Essentially, Ibaka is a better scorer, shooter, playmaker and rim-protector than Biyombo but is he really a marked improvement over what Biyombo provided for this team last year? His defense leaves a lot to be desired outside of the blocks.
The problem with pairing Ibaka with Jonas Valanciunas in the frontcourt is that they become redundant.
Valanciunas and Ibaka are both primarily offensive players who are tall and clog the paint a bit. However, they’re not players you want to have guarding players in space.
Tucker-Ibaka is more dangerous than Biyombo-Valanciunas
The real difference, and what lil’ Kev should have pointed out, is that the combination of P.J. Tucker and Ibaka in the Raptors frontcourt will be the real difference for the Raptors. Valanciunas is averaging just 21.0 minutes per game and Tucker is averaging over 24.4 minutes per game so far.
Last year, Jonas averaged closer to 26.8 minutes a game and had a much bigger offensive impact, averaging 4.9 more points and 3.8 more rebounds per game. He also averaged 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game last season, compared to averaging 0.1 steals and 0.4 blocks per game this season.
Since Valanciunas is still on the roster, and so is Patterson, the Raptors essentially replaced Biyombo with both Tucker and Ibaka.
What this means for the Cavs is that the Raptors can play with “Twin Towers” or they can go to small-ball lineups. The matchup issues were not significant for the Cavaliers in Game 1, but they could cause problems down the line. Lineups of Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Tucker, and Ibaka match up better than lineups that featured of Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Patterson, and Valanciunas last year. T
his improved Raptors lineup can shoot better, rebound equally and defend similarly to last year, an obvious upgrade for the Raptors.
Love should not worry
Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they have improved as well.
The Cavaliers current additions of Deron Williams and Kyle Korver are on par with the Raptors’ additions of Tucker and Ibaka. On-the-court, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a number of lineups that will match up just fine with the Raptors improved lineup.
With Valanciunas on the bench and Ibaka at the three-point line, Love and Tristan Thompson will continue to eat rebounds. In addition, Love can guard Ibaka, who isn’t a dribble-drive threat, at the three-point line. On offense, Love will not easily back down Ibaka in the post but it’s a far easier task than backing down Valanciunas or Biyombo.
Last night, the Cavaliers showed the Raptors that Love and Thompson will grab loads of rebounds when the Raptors go with their shooting lineup. For the night, the duo grabbed 23 boards combined. (“Number 23”, LeBron James, chipped in 10 rebounds of his own.)
My not-so-bold prediction
Love will average a 20-point double-double this series and the Cavs will move on to the Eastern Conference Finals after defeating the Raptors in 5 games. Love should worry more about Al Horford or Marcin Gortat brutalizing him in the paint than Serge Ibaka hanging out at the three-point line and getting posterized by Iman Shumpert when he steps inside.
Related Story: Cleveland Cavaliers Embarrass Toronto Raptors In Game 1
Do you think Serge Ibaka will be a difference-maker in the Cleveland Cavaliers series against the Toronto Raptors? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.