I'm fine with mid range. Not with threes. Why take out the RA when talking about low post scoring? That is part of it. Who really wants the supposed best player on the Thunder right now, with his length and athleticism, jacking up threes? It takes him out of position on rebounding and out transition game is non existent b/c he doesn't attack. This was the perfect time for him to showcase his skills and prove he is really a third option and the third best player on the team. He isn't showing it.
Because it's difficult for a player like Ibaka to get shots in the RA.He can't just stand in the RA and catch the ball, and he's not getting to the rim on dribble drives.
If you want him to make more rim runs in transition, that's understandable and realistic, but he's never been an effective inside scorer in the half court.
I want Ibaka jacking up threes regardless, but it's especially useful when he's playing alongside two non-shooting wings in Thomas and Roberson. Their defenders can roam off them, and having Ibaka play inside just mucks up the Thunder's spacing even more by drawing another defender inside.
Ibaka is shooting 37.1% on a high number of 3s this season, and he's at 36.9% since the start of the 2012-13 season. A 3-point shot for a 37% shooter has an expected value of 1.11 points, which any team would take in a half-court possession. An equivalent 2-point FGA would require a 55.5% FG%. Ibaka is one of the best mid-range shooters in the league at 45-46%, but at that rate those shots only have an expected value of 0.90-0.92 points.
Yes, one drawback to Ibaka playing on the perimeter is that it makes offensive rebounding more difficult for him, but it's not having a significant impact. The last two years OKC has finished 15th and 14th in offensive rebounding %; this year, they're currently 16th. That's without Westbrook, who's a ridiculously good offensive rebounder for a PG. On the flipside, the farther away Ibaka is from the basket on offense, the less distance he has to travel to get back on defense, thus making it harder for opponents to score in transition with a rim protector already in the paint.
Ibaka isn't showcasing his skills because his skills don't involve creating his own shot. When you take KD and Westbrook out of the equation, that weakness becomes more glaring. Ibaka has value on the offensive end, but it's not what makes him OKC's third-best player.
If there is any noise to be made about Ibaka needing to spend more time inside, it should be on the defensive end. As good as Adams is, he's nowhere near the rim protector that Ibaka is. Thus, when OKC is matched up against teams that play small or have a legitimate shooter at PF, Ibaka should be matching up with the center so that he's not pulled away from the paint. For example, last night Ibaka should have been matched up on Bogut/Ezeli/Speights rather than defending Green all the way out at the 3-point line. Granted, such a cross-match would put Adams in an awkward position, but if it keeps Ibaka close to the paint, you have to do it IMO.
