Los Angeles Clippers veteran forward Serge Ibaka finally made his way back to the court with some playing time when the Clippers took on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, and Ibaka did not disappoint.
Ibaka finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and a steal off the bench and following the game he addressed his lack of playing time this season, and his relationship with Clippers head coach Ty Lue.
“I mean, I’m going to be honest with you, as a human being it can be frustrating,” Ibaka said after the game (h/t Clutch Points). “As a coach, he tries to do his best he can to keep the team together, to keep the team playing the best basketball you can. As a player, a hard worker, someone who loves basketball like me, I want to play too.
“At the same time, it can be really frustrating between that, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being professional. I have to be professional and I have to be there. At the end of the day I’m still blessed, man. If I’m not playing, even when I went to go play in the G League, my checks still come in. That’s blessed. So, like I said, it is what it is. No matter what the situation is, I want to keep working, I’m going keep being professional and stay ready. That’s all I can control.”
“I mean, you know, like you said, it has been a very strange month for me. It helped me to be stronger. All I can do is to keep working and stay ready. That’s the only thing I can control. That’s the only thing in my power, in my hands, is to keep working and keep being professional and stay ready.
“Like I said, all I can control is to keep doing what I can control, keep working. It is what it is, man, you know?”
