No. 1 LA Clippers player in need of a career resurgence: Serge Ibaka
When one thinks of LA Clippers’ center Serge Ibaka, one thinks of a freakish talent who swats everything in his way.
While he’s still that to an extent, we haven’t seen him play at his best for a few years now. In his championship 2018-2019 season, he put up 15 and 8.1 rebounds per game, along with 1.4 blocks per game and a 52.9 FG%.
Since then, the only aspect of his game he’s been better at is three-point shooting. He’s not too old at 31 years old. He still has some athletic years left in him.
Ibaka hasn’t been an All-Defensive Team selection since 2014. He averaged just 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. I love Ibaka, but he could be playing better, and he should be.
Regardless of if he starts or not, he needs to make his minutes count. If he doesn’t, the Clippers could be in a really tough position and play without much force inside.
If he does, however, we’re looking at one of the better starting centers in the league with elite defense.
The Clips only have two true big men on the roster. Ibaka needs to bounce back and be the player he used to be. So do the other two on this list. I have faith in all of them to get it done, and if they do, the team will be scary once Kawhi gets back.