NBA Orlando SL: Please tell me that’s not Serge Ibaka on the floor!
As I casually walked down the hall with toilet bowl cleaner Monday with the holiday weekend winding down, a voice came from the living room with a message that immediately gave me an excuse to quit on my chores.
“Serge Ibaka got hurt.”
What could be worse for the Thunder during summer league play than a long-term injury to No. 9? Some kid trying to make a roster who careens into Kevin Durant on the bench? (Don’t worry, I just knocked on some wood, and you should too. But seriously, maybe put him in a Popemobile on the sidelines? I love that he wants to be there, but PROTECT THAT MAN!)
Thankfully there’s no indication the injury is anything serious, and as of Monday night Ibaka was listed as day-to-day. Fingers crossed further examination won’t reveal anything worse than a boo boo.
But Ibaka’s injury raises a question: Does a guy like Air Congo belong on a summer league roster? Check out the rest of the teams in Orlando. Does anyone else have a guy who even got a playoff cameo, much less the significant minutes played by Ibaka, James Harden and Eric Maynor?
It’s easy to point out that Russell Westbrook tore up the summer league after his rookie year and had a second season that put him on the map. But how do we know those two things are related? The summer league is filled with draft picks, fringe roster players and European projects. The last time Ibaka wore a Thunder uniform before Monday he was banging with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom (and forgot one last box out … WHYWHYWHY!?), and in Orlando he went down against a “Boston Celtics” team featuring three centers whose names you can’t pronounce (Semih Erden, Artsiom Parakhouski and THE Vyacheslav Kravstov) and a stiff from Notre Dame.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to stand out in the NBA in terms of how you develop young talent. The struggles of NBA GMs to stay out of their own way have been well-documented. And the Thunder had six homegrown players in its playoffs rotation, which you’ll be hard pressed to find on other 50 win teams. So it’s possible that heavy summer league use of already established young players is a key to Oklahoma City’s rise.
Still, it’s hard for me to believe that five games in Orlando against a bunch of guys who will never sniff a regular season NBA minute (I’m looking at you, Tadija Dragicevic) will provide benefits to core rotation players that outweigh the risk of a serious or semi-serious injury. I get that the summer league is like spring football, where coaches can focus on making the player better as opposed to implementing playbooks and strategies during training camp and the preseason. But can’t a portion of that be accomplished in a more controlled environment at a practice facility?
I know Ibaka in particular could use some fine-tuning. He’ll never be able to roll out of bed with four go-to post moves, but with a little work he could be the difference between qualifying for the playoffs and home court in the first round. But when you’re talking about a difference maker of that caliber, you’ve got to minimize the risk of exposing him to injuries in the offseason. Use the summer league to sort out the end of the roster and to see where you’re at with guys like Byron Mullens.
that was scary as heck. I guess it comes down to a philosophical question of how we want to develop guys. If we want 1st/2nd year dudes to go through this cycle, then it goes for all of them. Players can get hurt in any game (or even in non-games). Yes, it sucks when this happens, but the potential gain of institutionalizing a winning system (like we are in the process of doing) requires the assumption of risks like this.
So…play hard guys and please don’t get hurt! (knocking on wood!)
It’s a fine line, to be sure. I lean towards playing the rookies and sophomores, this is the first / last chance they’ll get at seeing them in pro competition until the preseason so it can be useful for growth and scouting purposes.
guys are going to play whether it’s summer league or piuckup ball on the street – injuries happen – no way around it . . .
Daniel Orton looks really bad.
Does anyone know if their contracts specifically prohibit them from participating in specfic off-season activities? For instance, playing pickup on one surface vs another (concrete vs gym floor). I know a pro athlete in a different sport and they aren’t allowed to do a lot of stuff (ride motorcycles, jetski, waterski, etc …)
I’m sure any basketball player that has made it the NBA is probably a gym rat of some sort, so keeping them off the court is impossible, but I wonder if they are limited to what kind of court they can play on. Maybe that’s why we have so many of our good youngsters playng summer league. Better in a controlled environment with other professionals than the street courts in their home towns against locals trying to make name for themselves by schooling an NBA player. Make sense?
Daniel Orton may be the worst rookie drafted in either round.
@justin
Totally agree. I guess Coach Cal knew what he was doing by keeping the big boy on the bench.
@Mastrmatt
Well you can assume those requirements would be placed mostly on high draft picks. KD picked at number 2 would definitely have that if it existed, and he has played those street games in DC the last two summers. So there might not be a big deal about playing on concrete.
@clarkem
Thanks man! I’m always curious about the differences in sports. The guy I know plays baseball and they (warning – mass generalization upcoming) get held out for the smallest of injuries. Didn’t Sammy Sosa miss time for sleeping wrong on his neck? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that in the NBA. It would make sense if they tried to keep them from playing on street courts. Anyway .. thanks for the info. Beyond the sports comparison, I’m trying to figure out why Serge, James and Eric are getting any kind of extended minutes during SL. Oh well. Im sure if something happened to one of them, Presti would just Presti some other GM and bring in another stud.
@Mastrmatt
I think if they were to get injured in summer league, it wouldn’t be a huge deal unless it was a major major injury, knee blowing out a la Kendrick Perkins or something of the sort. Even a 4-6 week injury would not do much to effect the team, besides setting back summer conditioning, shooting etc.
Also of note is that none of Harden, Maynor or Ibaka has had a history of injury or had a nagging health problem last year. I think if that was the case they would be handled differently.
Add to all of this the fact that Presti specifically looks for players who genuinely live breath and sleep basketball it would be all kinds of wrong for him to try to limit them playing.
There is a limit though. KD on twitter said that he wanted to play in the summer league again this year, but that he wasn’t allowed to. I don’t know if it was the team or the league that wouldn’t allow him though.
@clarkem
The rules say you have to have been in the NBA 3 years or fewer. I don’t know if that would include or exclude KD, because he’s in between years 3 and 4.
Ibaka, Harden, and Maynor are getting minutes in summer league because they are 2nd year players that need as many reps as they can get, especially Ibaka, players that raw need all the reps/experience they can get.
Hit the nail right on the head. Anyone remember all of the injuries the Thunder had last year from practice during the season? It’s a part of the game. What are you going to do, not practice?
Thankfully, the Thunder bring it every day and when you have competitive, hungry guys going 100% at all times, injuries will happen.
But to further answer the question, YES, Ibaka needs to play in Summer League. Until you average more than 18 minutes a game during the regular season AND are going into your sophomore year, you need all the reps you can get in a competitive environment (really lose definition of competitive since we’re talking Summer League, here). Ibaka needs time on the court against players not wearing an OKC on their jerseys and he also needs an opportunity to work on some new parts of his game (like post moves) against a little lesser competition before jumping into the deep ends of the NBA regular season (crawl before you walk).
Now next year on the other hand, he better not even sniff Orlando.
@Mastrmatt
There are restrictions but it varies wildly. I read something awhile ago about this when Vlad Radmanovic busted his knee snow boarding. Some player contracts have serious restrictions on when and where they can play basketball during the offseason.
@Kev
Have you put any thought into doing any defensive breakdowns for OKC’s summer games? Reading White’s score would be entertaining at the least, and it could provide better insight as to whether or not Mullens has improved much on the defensive side of the ball. Harden’s defense would be noteworthy as well, as that will be the primary deciding factor for his starting spot.
@Greg
I think Kev’s system might spontaneously produce tears if it tried to score the Summer League.
@J.G.
All the more reason
@Greg
My general impression of DJ’s defense yesterday was two fold:
1. DJ got a little lost in rotations. That’s disconcerting, given the amount of time he’s had to figure those out. He wasn’t too bad one on one, but ball movement lost him.
2. I’m to the point where I think DJ just lacks enough lateral quickness to play good defense. He was really good on the boards and played really physical down low. But he’s slow. He’s slow in general, but really slow laterally. I don’t think that’s something that will get any better for him.
I think if Kev were to go to the trouble to rate the games, I think you’ll see him come up with several “DJ was too slow to get to his man. DJ was too slow off the rotation. DJ was too slow to help. DJ was too slow to close out. etc…”
Not to put words in Kev’s mouth, but I’m just saying that’s what I expect the report to be.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
I tend to agree. It wouldn’t be worth the trouble to grade out White, he’s just plain TERRIBLE at defense. He seemed even slower and less athletic yesterday, wasn’t sure that was possible. Mullens and Harden may be more intriguing to grade..
DJ also looked super awkward with the ball on the wing. He just kinda dribbled around aimlessly before raising up for a shot on the elbow.
it frusterates me nearly every time the announcers talk about how the thunder’s roster is “stacked” like we’re the damn yankees or something. oh excuse us, sorry presti has built a great, young team where even our 2nd year backups happen to be good enough to get playing time in the actual NBA. every single player that we have in there SHOULD be there and needs to further develop. they have yet to mention that once. i don’t hear them saying that about jrue holiday. he’s destroying those dudes out there but yet it doesn’t hurt to have him there…