Gregg Popovich on Serge Ibaka’s possible return: ‘I’m shocked’

When Adrian Wojnarowski announced that Serge Ibaka was probably heading into Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, all of the public was shocked after an earlier announcement and confirmation of that announcement from his personal blog that stated Serge Ibaka would miss the remainder of the playoffs.

But the Spurs weren’t and Gregg Popovich response to Ibaka possibly returning is everything you’d expect from Pop:

"“Shocked,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, never one to pass up an opportunity for sarcasm. “So surprised.”“Like I told you from the beginning, I know Sammy (Presti, Oklahoma City’s general manager and former Spurs assistant GM). We knew (Ibaka) would be back. And that’s good. Nobody would wish it on anybody to miss the playoffs. We’ve had guys miss playoffs before and it’s obviously a downer. So if he gets back in, and I’m sure he will as I’ve said from the beginning, I think it’s great.”via Spurs ‘not surprised at all’ by Ibaka’s possible return | Spurs Nation"

No one knows how healthy Serge Ibaka is as the series shifts to Oklahoma City. If he’s healthy enough to make an impact, the Thunder will be getting a much needed boost after getting shellacked in the first two games of the series. If Scott Brooks decides to use Ibaka as a decoy, it’ll play into the Spurs advantage as Popovich will surely scheme to make sure he is apart of almost every defensive play, especially in the pick-and-roll.

Either way, based on his comments on Ibaka’s return, Popovich has his Spurs ready to roll, with or without Ibaka starting in Game 3.