INGLEWOOD — Ivica Zubac is known for his aggressive defensive work around the rim. He has swatted 77 shots, collected 49 steals, grabbed 578 defensive rebounds and disrupted hundreds of opponents’ shot attempts this season. He is among those being mentioned for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, the 7-foot Croatian center with the soft touch can also be a force on offense and his elevated scoring numbers this season are proof. He is averaging 16.2 points and posted his 45th double-double of the season in Sunday’s victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
Not only that, but Zubac also had a season-high eight assists, flirting with what would have been his first career triple-double, adding yet another highlight to his prolific stretch since the All-Star break. He has had at five or more assists in seven games this season.
He might have gotten two more assists on Sunday, but Coach Tyronn Lue sat him and the other starters in the fourth quarter of the blowout victory. Lue said it was tempting to try and get him the rare triple-double but with three more games this week, he decided to give the big man, who has been averaging 32.6 minutes per game, a breather.
Lue said Zubac has become “really elite” when he gets a short ball.
“He’s doing a good job of taking his time, making the right pass and making the right play and so he’s only going to keep getting better,” Lue said. “Give him credit for what he’s doing.”
Zubac said his rise in assists is the result of opponents sending two guys to guard him inside, leaving teammates open elsewhere on the court.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of doubles lately,” Zubac said Sunday. “I don’t remember the last time a team didn’t double me in the post, so it’s all about being patient and making the right pass. It doesn’t have to be an assist every time.
“It’s all about finding an open man and they might rotate to that guy, they might swing to someone else who’s open, but it’s all when you see a double, when they put two on you, someone is open. I’m just trying to make the right play every time.”
And it shows. Over the past 14 games, Zubac has averaged 19.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 blocks in 35.3 minutes while shooting 65.6E% from the floor.
Lue said Zubac’s offensive game started to rise a few years ago when injuries to perennial All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George forced him to turn to Zubac for baskets.
“(We were) just trying to generate points and so we started posting Zu more,” Lue said. “He got more and more comfortable, and it got to the point where we knew we could throw a ball down and trust him and so he’s gotten better each year, gotten better with double-team, gotten better with positioning of where he wants to catch the basketball and he’s been great. Like I said, he’s been good because our players trust him now.”
Said Leonard: “He’s very important, very efficient. When he gets the ball, I feel like everybody thinks he’s going to make it.”
NO EASY PATH FORWARD
The Clippers’ next game will require more than one player to have a great game. On Tuesday, they face the Cleveland Cavaliers, who at 56-11, own the best record in the NBA, and had won 16 games in a row before losing to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The Clippers, in eighth place in the Western Conference, have 14 remaining games, all of which will feel like must-wins if they want to avoid the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7-10).
After Sunday’s victory over Charlotte, Leonard said he would worry about the Cavaliers later.
“They’ve been playing great basketball, great individual basketball as well as team and they’re doing it on both ends, but I always say I’m going to take this win tonight and enjoy it and try to get back to it tomorrow and see what we need to do,” said Leonard.
Zubac said figuring out how to slow the Cavs is the coaches’ jobs, namely assistant Jeff Van Gundy.
“JVG got all the answers,” Zubac said. “I’m sure he was probably watching all their games this year and he’s going to have a million different coverages ready. So, we just got to be locked in, communicate on the floor, execute on both ends and I think we’ll have a good chance to win.”
CAVALIERS AT CLIPPERS
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood
TV/radio: FDSN SoCal, 570 AM