Brook Lopez is scheduled to return on Monday for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lopez played in the team’s first game this season but has been out ever since with a back injury. With his return looming, the Bucks will have to do some shuffling of their rotation. How will this impact one of the other big men that Milwaukee currently has?
How Brook Lopez’s return to the Milwaukee Bucks lineup impacts Serge Ibaka
Many probably believe that Lopez is going to completely destroy Serge Ibaka‘s minutes and have him fall in the rotation. I don’t see that being the case. Especially early, the team will probably be looking to manage Lopez’s minutes as he gets his legs back under him.
Instead of completely losing his spot in Milwaukee’s rotation, I see Ibaka taking on a different role. If there’s one thing that we know about Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, it’s that he is willing to spice up his rotations every once in a while.
If you can think back to last season’s playoffs, Coach Bud was certainly flexible with his forward and center rotations. There were numerous times throughout the team’s championship run where we saw Portis/Lopez, Antetokounmpo/Portis, and whatever other combinations of their rotations that you could think of.
In fact, there were even times when all three played together with a lineup of Portis/Antetokounmpo/Lopez on the floor at the same time. While it wasn’t a lineup that Milwaukee used very often, it does show Bud’s willingness to mix-and-match with his big men.
Ibaka becomes especially important this season now that Milwaukee no longer has PJ Tucker. Not to imply that Ibaka can fully fill that role that Tucker had last season, but he does play the same position as Tucker and will probably be the guy that sees the minutes that need to be filled by Tucker’s loss.
Ibaka probably won’t be able to match Tucker’s overall impact on the team. Once Tucker got to the team last year, it seemed that the entire mindset of the team and the fanbase changed. Ibaka may not be able to do that, but they will still need great play from him at the forward position moving forward.
Lopez’s return doesn’t necessarily spell the end of Ibaka’s minutes with how flexible Bud has shown to be in the past. Since Ibaka can be played at either the forward or the center spot, it allows the Bucks to use him in different ways than just at the 5.
I’m fully expecting Ibaka to still get postseason minutes. Even though the playoffs are a time where rotations are shorter and starters play bigger minutes, it’s still important to have rotation players that can play quality minutes when the starters do come out.
The Bucks have the luxury of having four players that can be moved around between center and forward when others get their share of the minutes. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo has played the center position a few times for the Bucks in the last few seasons.
Lopez’s return really shouldn’t have too big of an impact on Ibaka considering the ways that the Bucks have managed their rotations the last few years. He may be playing alongside Lopez in some lineups thanks to his versatility.
Hopefully, the Bucks continue to be creative again this season and let Ibaka continue to have a big role with the team.