INGLEWOOD — Ivica Zubac cringed at the idea he needed help last season. Help? What for?
The 7-foot Croatian anchored the Clippers’ highly rated defense, going at it alone at the center position for 80 games while posting career-high numbers in points and a league-leading number of total rebounds.
In doing so, he established himself as one of the NBA’s premier interior defenders and earned a sixth-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
“I told him (Coach Tyronn Lue) last year from the beginning I was like, if you need 48 (minutes) from me, I’m going to play 48. I felt pretty good,” Zubac said, who averaged 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds over 32.8 minutes per game last season. “So, whatever they need out of me, I’m ready.”
Zubac, who shed 8-10 pounds over the summer, said he was in good shape last season but coming into this season “I feel even in better shape, so I’m ready for all the minutes.”
Like it or not, though, the Clippers’ iron man will have quality support this season and what’s not to like about having veteran center Brook Lopez as your backup?
At 37 years old, Lopez started 80 games last season and averaged 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 50.9% overall and 37.3% from 3-point range with the Milwaukee Bucks. That brings a smile to Zubac’s face, as he is delighted to be playing alongside his former teammate.
“Brook is one of the best teammates I had – very positive, very funny, great genuine guy. He is going to be huge for us, man. The stuff he brings on both sides of the floor is something not a lot of guys in this league can do,” Zubac said. “The way he can stretch the floor and protect the rim, not a lot of the guys in this league can do. So, he’s going to be a huge addition for us.”
Zubac and Lopez played one season as teammates with the Lakers in 2017-18 before the native Californian signed with Milwaukee the following season. Lopez played for the Bucks for seven seasons, then signed a two-year, $18 million free agent contract with the Clippers this summer.
For Lopez, the move to the bench is a new experience. He has started in all but 41 games of his 17-year career, including all 80 he played last season for the Bucks, but he expects the shift will be seamless.
“It’s obviously going to be different, but I have a lot of people here who are going to help me through this transition, help me be my best at this role, and at the end of the day, I want to win,” Lopez said. “I just want to help this team win. So, if that’s what it takes, I’m here to come off the bench and do that to the best of my ability.”
From the bench, Lopez will have a front row seat to Zubac’s still-emerging talent. He said the 28-year-old center has improved immensely since his Lakers days.
“I played with Zu with the Lakers almost 10 years ago now. I think it was his second year in the league, and he was a very talented, raw young player then,” Lopez said. “But to see his growth, it’s astonishing. He’s become such a great player, absolutely a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year this year, and he still has even more room to grow, which is just scary to think about.”
Lue said the benefit of having Lopez, a former NBA champion and All-Star, on the roster is that the 7-1 center gives the Clippers a viable backup who can play defense, spread the floor with his accurate shooting – and give Zubac a breather.
“We played him a lot,” Lue said of Zubac’s heavy minutes. “We didn’t really have a backup center, so when things got tough, we always had to get Zu back in the game. I thought he played for too many minutes. If you asked him, he didn’t play enough, but for me it’s just too many minutes.”
Zubac is still expected to see much of the heavy lifting, but now he has someone to help carry the load.