Does Oklahoma City have enough star power to fend off the Clippers, Spurs and Grizzlies on their way to unseating the defending champion Heat? The question was raised when the Thunder traded James Harden to Houston in October. The answer may yet be provided by power forward Serge Ibaka, who has been working tirelessly at both ends of the floor on their behalf.
"He's a star for us,'' Kevin Durant said. "He's a star for us and that's how we look at it.''
The 6-foot-10 Ibaka is among the favorites for the Most Improved award while averaging career bests of 14 points and 56.4 percent shooting, which ranks him fourth in the league overall and No. 1 among non-centers. He also stands No. 2 with 2.86 blocks per game -- a rare combination of skills. He joins David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan and Bill Walton as the type of player who can block shots at one end and make them consistently at the other.
"How many shot-blockers are there in the history of the game that can hit 17- to 18-foot jump shots?'' OKC coach Scott Brooks said. "He is a knockdown 17-foot shooter, and eventually he's going to be able to make the three consistently.''
Ibaka has been at the center of the Thunder's last two big trades. They dealt Jeff Green two years ago in part to elevate Ibaka (and Harden) to more prominent roles. When Harden was moved for financial reasons, it was done in part because the Thunder have faith in Ibaka, whose game has improved steadily.
"He's driven like not a lot of players I've been around,'' Brooks said. "An optional day is never an option for him.''
[Ben Golliver: Thunder on track for one of the dominant seasons in a decade]
Ibaka had picked up basketball as a teenager in Congo before moving to Europe to play professionally. When the Thunder picked him at No. 24 in the 2008 draft, two traits were particularly intriguing to them: (1) his determination, which has been exhibited by the extra work he puts in routinely at night after practices (to the point that the team sometimes has to send Ibaka home on orders that he needs rest more than extra work); and (2) a smooth shooting stroke at the elbow that has grown increasingly reliable.
"Maybe for you or for all the people it is a surprise,'' Ibaka said of his dependable jump shooting, "but not for me or for my teammates or my coaches. Because they know I put in a lot of work and that is why I'm getting better.''
Though he's only 23, Ibaka was in a hurry to prove himself while helping his team recover from Harden's departure.
"I was thinking that it's time,'' he said. "Four years, people have been talking about us, that we're a young team. That era is over for now, man. It's time to stand up and to play our basketball and to do what we're going to do. It's no more excuse to be young, it's no more excuse. It's win or go home.''
Do the Thunder have enough playmakers to beat the Heat? While Kevin Martin's 15.1 points have helped replace the 16.8 points they received from Harden last season, the Thunder have no one to provide the versatility that made Harden the Sixth Man of the Year. Instead, their young team has progressed along a different route. Durant is showing more MVP-level leadership than ever, while Russell Westbrook continues to mature while never missing a game.
The dominance of Durant and Westbrook raises the healthy question of whether there is room for a third star in Oklahoma City. It became easier to put things into perspective when Harden emerged as an explosive star in Houston -- a role that he never could have established while trying to complement Durant and Westbrook.
While Ibaka is worthy of All-Star consideration from the Western Conference coaches, who should appreciate his across-the-board impact on the best team in the conference, he'll be unlikely to approach 20 points per game as long as he's playing in the seams between his prolific teammates. He is an emerging star in the mode of Rasheed Wallace, Buck Williams or Horace Grant -- an unselfish big man whose team couldn't contend without him. At one end of the floor Ibaka shoots a high percentage, and at the other end he holds opponents to low percentages.
"I'm working to get better at everything, not just my offensive game,'' Ibaka said. "I'm getting better on defense, not only in the blocked shot. We're switching a lot -- I'm switching a lot on the small guys because I have confidence from my coach. He gives me that confidence to do a lot, so now I'm doing everything.''
While the luxury tax may force Miami and other rivals to disband their expensive teams over the next year or two, the Thunder core of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka are no older than 24 and all signed through 2015-16. In time, their model may stand up as the example that the rest of the league is trying to emulate.
"As a player I would like to be someone someday, and I would like to try it,'' Ibaka said of eventually earning All-Star status. "But I wont lie to you: It's not really my obsession. My big obsession is to win the championship with my team.
"I keep working like I do now, I think one day I will have a possibility to be [an] All-Star. But the big obsession is to win. We saw a lot of good players in the history of the NBA do not end up winning. They were All-Star 14 or 15 times, yeah? But they do not win.''
Ibaka, however, appears to be on the right track.
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發表於 2013-1-18 12:27 PM
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