SIAKAM TAKING HIS GAME TO NEW HEIGHTS
FORWARD PRIMED FOR BREAKOUT YEAR
In the aftermath of a satisfying first pre-season win for the Toronto Raptors and in the tiny lockerroom the team was assigned at Rogers Arena, Kawhi Leonard was under siege.
His locker, kitty corner to that of Pascal Siakam’s, was surrounded by cameras and recorders as the tiny area around his dressing area quickly became jammed.
Siakam, just out of the shower and still barefoot, was concerned he might get stepped on. “Personal space. Personal space,” he repeated as the jockeying for position in the Leonard scrum began before Siakam took matters into his own hands and jumped up on the bench to ensure the safety of his bare feet.
This isn’t a bold prediction, but we’ll suggest here that a few of Siakam’s teammates are going to find the traffic around his locker a little crowded this coming NBA season.
Siakam is primed to take off this season. He’s coming off a third consecutive summer of relentless work. But it’s the talk about Siakam, the 2018-19 version, by his
peers that makes this coming-out year such a likelihood.
It started in the summer at the UCLA runs, under the direction of Rico Hines, that have become a staple for the young Raptors. Siakam, Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet were front and centre a year ago. This year, they were joined by OG Anunoby, a much-more-involved (in the scrimmage part) Norm Powell and a host of other young Raptors.
These Raptors have become such a mainstay in those runs that groups seek them out to play. Hines keeps the young Raptors together because he loves their team play, the way they move and share the ball. Other groups have noticed and seek out games with them.
It’s good for the opponents to play against that style and it’s good for the young Raps who for the last two years have been exposed to elite NBA talent like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Paul George and others who also frequent the UCLA runs.
VanVleet “popped” last season by maintaining his role as the lead director of the bench mob. He then became one of the Raptors’ closers, playing more fourthquarter minutes than any other member of the bench mob, including the veterans.
Siakam wasn’t far behind, but his coming-out party still feels like it’s to come.
Already in the first game of this pre-season Saturday in a win over Portland, Siakam has shown an eagerness to be at the centre of
things. He had 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes and having six of them off the offensive boards is impressive. The other seven from off the glass of his own basket, he ripped down and headed up court to initiate the offence.
There was no hesitation. No second-guessing whether he should give it up to a point guard. It’s exactly what his team wants of him. Trust him to use his speed and create opportunities for his teammates.
The same confidence he has in that ability is the kind of confidence they want Siakam to have in his shot.
“For me, I always felt my shot was good,” Siakam said. “My shot was never broke. I went through a tough stretch last year (in December, he was just 1-for-27 from three), which was tough to
go through then, and then I kind of overthought a lot of things. I was thinking about it way too much. (This off-season) was just a fresh start for me. I didn’t change much. For me, I just have to be confident. That’s something I am learning to do. Coming in, you always want to take a step back and see things first, but now it’s time. I just have to be confident and continue to shoot.”
Siakam is convinced just believing in himself is the key.
“That is the most important thing for me. Obviously I am learning different things and new things every day, but most of the things is just about confidence and just doing it because I’m always working on it. Just get to the point where I go out and do it and it becomes second nature.”
Siakam didn’t shoot the ball particularly well Saturday, making just three of this 10 attempts and none of the three came from behind the arc. But putting that behind him and just continuing to believe in his shot is the approach Siakam will take.
Well, that and continuing to put in the work, which has never been a question with this young man.