The Raptors are blessed with Swiss Army Knife-like players all over their lineup, giving Nick Nurse the luxury to test things like the 'jumbo lineup.' (loung_s)
TORONTO – You may not meet a more particular man in all of the NBA when it comes to practice routine thanThe Toronto Raptors big man likes to get his work in very early and is often spotted as the last guy in the gym getting extra shots up.
“We get a three-hour block of time to practice, and we try to make it as similar to being at home as we can, which means normally guys will come in in the morning, and there’s weights and stretching and a shooting segment before actual practice begins,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said on a conference call Wednesday.
“I have to do the best I can to adjust, do my things, and then try to adapt with the situation,” Ibaka said. “So far I am getting used to it.”Enjoying a career year before the season suspended with averages of 16 points and 8.3 rebounds on 51.8 per cent shooting from the field and 39.
This is an interesting shift in philosophy for Nurse, who notably split up Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas at centre last season before the Raptors traded the latter to acquire Gasol. By splitting up his two most notable big men and not really allowing them to play many minutes together, however, it’s played to the benefit of Ibaka, who seemed to struggle playing alongside another traditional big when he was first acquired by Toronto at the trade deadline in 2017.
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