Siakam transforms T.O. into ‘motor’ city
Big man’s relentless energy at both ends of the court often a matchup nightmare
Pascal Siakam is out there on the court flying around at 100 miles an hour from the first minute he plays until the last, fuelled by a seemingly endless supply of energy that Raptors coach Dwane Casey calls the forward’s “gift.”
He beats small, quicker opponents down the court routinely. He blazes away from other big men like they were standing still, as they sometimes are when the blur goes past them. He’s perpetual motion and it’s his most effective tool because hard work — constant and tireless hustle on every possession — is a skill. Not every NBA player possesses it, yet Siakam seems to have mastered it.
“It’s very rare for a guy with that athleticism to use it 100 per cent of the time. That’s why he’s special,” Siakam’s teammate Fred Van Vleet was saying after Sunday’s home win over the Wizards.
“There are a lot of athletes like him in the NBA, but there are very few that fly around on each possession. His conditioning is great. He doesn’t seem to ever get tired. He’s literally just outrunning people, outworking, flying around.”
Siakam has endeared himself to his coaches and teammates — and earned himself a solid spot in the Raptors rotation — primarily because of that work ethic. He’s not the greatest shooter, and while his ballhandling and decision-making are better in his second season than they were in his first, they aren’t at the elite level yet.
But Casey can’t not play him, because his energy is infectious. The Raptors just seem to play faster whenever he’s on the floor.
“That’s his gift,” the coach said. “One of his skills is his ability to run the floor both ways. That’s something that’s kind of small but it’s huge, because a lot of guys can’t run like him and don’t want to run like him and don’t have the desire to run like him, and he does. And he focuses on it. He thinks about it. He knows that’s how he can score, is outrun people down the floor. His gift is his motor.”
Casey was speaking before Sunday’s win and he was prescient, because Siakam helped turn the game with simple speed and effort. The Raptors were a bit listless to start the second half when Casey went to Siakam and Lucas Nogueira early than usual, and the energy level increased.
Siakam had a length-of-the-court dash to get a steal from Bradley Beal, a put-back of a missed Kyle Lowry layup on a play many bigs would have quit on, and the game just had a different feel. It’s what he does.
“I’ve said it for the last two, three weeks: He’s playing as well as anybody right now,” the coach said. “Just with his speed, his heart and his attention to detail. When he gets switched off onto some of the small guys, he’s doing a heck of a job of staying square, keeping the ball in front of him, containing ’em. He’s just on point with everything.”
Siakam doesn’t make a big deal out of what he does. He says it’s just working hard, doing what’s asked of him and not trying to do too much. He’s ready when called and isn’t worried about how much court time he gets. He was a starter at the beginning of his rookie year, lost his job when the Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka and didn’t play an awful lot early in this season.
Now? The Raptors need him every night.
“Last year he started, what, 30 games? And our record was unbelievable,” Lowry said. “I read an article and he said he was going to make it hard for the coaches not to play him, and he’s doing that. We love him and the energy he’s bringing is unbelievable. You just want him to keep it up.”