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2023-24 Clippers Season Preview: Ivica Zubac
Our player preview series for the 2024 Clippers continues with Ivica Zubac, the team’s reliable starting center.
Basic Information
Height: 7’0″
Weight: 240 pounds
Position: Center
Age: 26
Years in NBA: 8
Key Stats: 10.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.3 blocks on 63.4/69.7 splits across 76 games in 28.6 minutes per game
Contract status: Second year of three-year $32,800,000 million contract worth $10,933,333 million this season.
Expectations
The expectations for Ivica Zubac have become quite simple in Clipper Nation. That’s to provide the team with a reliable starting center who can score in the paint, rebound the basketball, and be a defensive anchor.
Another thing to be expected is for Zubac to play over 30 minutes per game like the other starters. Last season, he played around the same number of minutes as Marcus Morris — and that should change. Tyronn Lue, like the rest of the basketball world, has an affinity for playing small-ball. But Zubac has shown he can play against small-ball lineups and make the pay on the offensive end.
Strengths
Last season Zubac was in the early conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. While those talks ultimately cooled off, he still is one of the better defensive centers in the league. He’s a paint protector who can block shots. and his foot speed and mobility allow him to switch and guard wings on the perimeter and not get beat.
He’s a strong interior scorer as well. He has solid footwork and fundamental skill around the basket. These last two seasons were the first time he ever averaged double-figures in scoring, and it was on some of the best efficiency of his career.
His passing has become another strength of his. Over the past couple of years, he’s become very good in the short roll making decisions with the ball in his hands.
Weaknesses
The main weakness that Zubac has been his foul trouble. There are still times when Lue has to pull him early because he picks up early fouls. This past season he averaged a career-high 2.9 fouls per game. That also has a little to do with his minutes. Playing defense consistently without fouling is the next step for him, both for staying on the court longer and bolstering his defensive abilities.
Summary
Zubac is one of the more underrated and under-appreciated centers in the league. He’s pretty much everything you would want in a starting caliber center and he even shoots a decent percentage from the free-throw line. Look for Ivica Zubac to have another solid year as the 2024 Clippers’ man in the middle.
2023-24 Clippers Season Preview: Ivica Zubac
David Yapkowitz