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INGLEWOOD — Clippers center Ivica Zubac leads the league in total rebounds with 304, nearly half of what he pulled down all of last season – impressive but unexplainable for the 7-footer now in his eighth NBA season.
“I don’t know,” the big man said of his increased production this season. “I’m more, I don’t know, I’m out there for longer.”
Others, however, have a better idea. Coach Tyronn Lue said the Clippers have changed their defensive schemes under assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, which keeps Zubac closer to the basket and not roaming the key.
“That way he’s able to get rebounds and keeping our biggest guy around the rim is really good for us,” Lue said. “So, we’ve really done a good job of just trying to keep size on the size, not letting Zu be out of position and then make sure he’s able to finish the possession with a rebound.”
Zubac’s reaction?
“Could be, yeah,” said Zubac, who had 626 total rebounds last season.
Zubac is averaging 12.2 rebounds to go along with 14.8 points per game, both career highs, not only from his touches inside, but also in part to the solid chemistry he has developed with teammate James Harden. As Harden’s partner in pick-and-rolls, Zubac is getting more opportunities to find the basket.
Yet it’s his rebounding that stands out. He is fourth in the NBA in rebounding average, behind only Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic (13.6), Karl-Anthony Towns (13.6) of the New York Knicks, and Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis (12.7).
Zubac will again test his skills against the league’s best when the Clippers (14-11) face the Nuggets (12-10) on Friday night at Ball Arena. The Clippers will be looking for their third victory against the 2023 NBA champions.
With Paul George gone after signing a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and Kawhi Leonard sidelined, Zubac started the year in dominant fashion, averaging 22.3 points and 12.0 rebounds while shooting 63.3% from the field. After a 23-point, 18-rebound performance against the Golden State Warriors in October, Zubac became the first Clippers center to log three consecutive 20-point games to start a season since Bob McAdoo in 1975.
“You have to produce while you’re out there,” Zubac said. “I feel like I can’t let my guys down. We’re, I think, a smaller team than most of the teams that we play, and I got to do my part on the boards. So, that’s a thing we struggled a lot with last year and a lot of it, it’s on me. I still think I can be better.”
Zubac has pulled down double-digit boards in 12 of the Clippers’ last 13 games, recording eight double-doubles over that stretch and averaging 13.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 blocks while shooting 62.6% from the floor.
“I think he’s more aggressive,” veteran forward Nico Batum said. “He knows he is a big man. He’s going to be on the court for 35, 40 minutes, so we need him to get all the ball. You can really rely on him to get every ball though, but he knows he has to dominate that part every night. So, he’s doing a good job so far.”
Lue wasn’t sure about the aggressive part, but he did know one thing.
“I don’t know about that, but he’s gotten better,” Lue said.
CLIPPERS AT NUGGETS
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV/radio: FDSNSC/570 AM
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