The Toronto Raptors will be without Serge Ibaka for one game after Tuesday's fight.
All things considered, things could have been a lot worse for Serge Ibaka and the Toronto Raptors. While the fight in Tuesday's win over the Chicago Bulls didn't last long, many felt as though the league would hand both Ibaka and Robin Lopez a multi-game suspension.
But as ESPN reported, that suspension will just be limited to one game.
The Raptors now must travel and face the Miami Heat down two of their best players. While the suspension being limited to one game is a blessing, each game from this point on is incredibly important if the Raptors want to move up to the third seed.
Ibaka had the following to say about the fight, transcribed by SB Nation:
"Like a man, I had to defend myself," Ibaka said, via the Raptors. "I'm not just gonna be out there and watch a man hit me and just walk away. I had to defend myself so that's what happened.
"You never know, things happen. I was just ready to protect myself. He threw the first punch. I had to do something.
On the one hand, you can understand where Ibaka is coming from. Lopez was out of line provoking him and the tussle escalated in a hurry. On the other hand, the Raptors brought Ibaka in not only to anchor the defense, but to be a calming presence for the team.
Losing his cool was a selfish decision that could come back to hurt the Raptors.
Both Ibaka and P.J. Tucker have brought stability to the Raptors locker room. When the team was sliding without Lowry, it was the two of them speaking out in the players-only meeting.
When Ibaka was in Oklahoma City, he had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the team leaders. With the Orlando Magic, he was the leader, but there was little consequences to his actions due to their position in the standings.
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While Toronto has some leadership in place, they also are counting on him to step up in that regard.
With Ibaka suspended, the team may go with either Patrick Patterson or Tucker at the power forward position. Whether as a starter or off the bench, I expect to see a fair amount of Tucker at power forward on Thursday night.
The Raptors had success with Tucker at power forward against Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics. This was mostly because of his ability to switch onto Thomas and prevent him from getting into the paint. In Miami, all things run through Goran Dragic.
So if Tucker can limit him in the same way, it could go a long way towards stopping Miami's offense.
Miami will also likely be dealing with an important absence as well. Hassan Whiteside had stitches put in his hand after lacerating it on the backboard during Tuesday's game. The Heat are just 2-3 without Whiteside this season.
If he doesn't play, there may not have been a better time for Ibaka to get suspended.
