Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka famously had his “Willis Reed” moment in returning from a serious injury prior to Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, but on Monday, he was absent from practice before the team’s next match-up with the San Antonio Spurs. However, it appears that Ibaka will be good to go for Game 4.
Royce Young brings the latest on Ibaka via ESPN.com:
"A day after making an unexpected return from injury, Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka did not practice Monday but fully expects to be ready to play in Game 4 on Tuesday.“The good news is I’m not feeling worse, so that’s good,” Ibaka said. “I’m sure every day I’m going to feel better every day, but I’m not expecting to feel much better yet tomorrow. One thing I know, I expect to do a better job.”“It was kind of hard a little bit with my feet. I was using more my right foot than left foot,” Ibaka said. “I could not do too much last night because after we saw the video, I felt like I was slow, and I’m sure my legs — my coaches, they understand, and I’m going to try to do tomorrow, I’m going to try to do better than last game.”"
It isn’t exactly a surprise to see Ibaka on the sidelines for the team’s practice on Memorial Day, but it would be a bigger shock if he were to sit out on Tuesday after the way that the big man played in Game 3. While playing virtually on one leg, Serge Ibaka put together a 15-point, 8-rebound, 4-block performance to help lead the Thunder to a crucial win, and unless he simply can’t walk, it is a safe bet to predict full participation from him on Tuesday night.