It’s been just over a month since Terrence Ross and Serge Ibaka first suited up for their new teams after a mid-season trade shook up the rosters of both the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic.
Tonight Ross returns to the Air Canada Centre for the first time since the trade. He expects — and deserves — a warm welcome from the Raptors faithful even as the fanbase has quickly warmed to his Ibaka.
But how have the two been doing in the month since the trade?
[relatedlinks]
Let’s take a look at the numbers. A quick caveat: Each has played just 15 games for his team and had already played 50 at his previous stop this season. So these aren’t direct comparisons.
But, hey, on with the stats!
ROSS | w/Toronto | w/Orlando | Diff |
---|---|---|---|
MP | 22.4 | 31.3 | 8.9 |
FGA | 8.9 | 11.3 | 2.4 |
FG% | .441 | .420 | -.021 |
3P% | .375 | .333 | -.042 |
Off Rtg | 112 | 98 | -14 |
Def Rtg | 108 | 110 | -2 |
IBAKA | w/Orlando | w/Toronto | Diff |
---|---|---|---|
MP | 30.5 | 31.7 | 1.2 |
FGA | 12.6 | 12.6 | 0 |
FG% | .488 | .466 | -.022 |
3P% | .388 | .415 | .027 |
Off Rtg | 111 | 103 | -8 |
Def Rtg | 108 | 108 | 0 |
Again, it’s not the world’s largest sample, but a few things jump out there:
1. Both have seen a playing-time bump.
This is particularly noticeable for Ross, who has started each of his 15 games in Orlando after coming off the bench in all 54 in Toronto earlier this season.
That said, he’s not yet doing a lot with it. While he’s putting up more shots per game in Orlando, he’s taking just 12.9 per 36 minutes compared to 14.3 in Toronto. He’s also averaging just 14.2 points per 36 after netting a career high 16.7 earlier in the season.
Which brings us to…
2. Both are lagging in efficiency.
This seems par for the course of joining a new team mid-season and trying to get acclimated on the fly, and a few others traded at this year’s deadline — like DeMarcus Cousins — can relate.
This has shown up primarily on the offensive end, where both Ross and Ibaka have seen dips in FG%, ORtg and overall PER.
That said, both have been on fire over their past four games, so those numbers already seem to be regressing to the mean. As the Magic have won three of four (against non-playoff teams), Ross has hit multiple threes in each game and 12 of 25 overall.
In Ibaka’s last four, the Raptors are 4-0 and he’s hit nine of 16 from beyond the arc.
3. Ibaka may be in Canada, but he isn’t exactly rolling up to the rim.
The power forward’s two-point percentage has dipped, but that’s not due to his shot-making: it’s about where he’s getting his shots.
So far in his Raptors tenure just 7.5 per cent of his shots have come from three feet and in. In Orlando this season he was getting 17.1 per cent of his shots in that zone.