SIAKAM FINDS NICHE WITH RAPS
Energy forward does a bit of everything in win over woefully Wall-less Wizards
It was just under a month ago that everything started to change for Pascal Siakam.
The Raptors’ power forward whose energy knows no bounds finally got an opportunity. It came in the form of an injury to a teammate as most opportunities do for players like Siakam, this one a combination of injuries to centre Jonas Valanciunas and his backup Lucas Nogueira.
At the time, the second-year Siakam was a body at the end of the bench collecting garbage minutes and itching for more.
In the 26 days since, Siakam has made himself indispensable.
In a 100-91 win over a Washington Wizards team that was once again without point guard John Wall, Siakam scored just four points but played more minutes than everyone in a Raptors uniform that didn’t have Lowry or DeRozan on the back of it.
Siakam was everywhere, as is usually the case, but his marquee moment and the kind of play that endears him to teammates and coaches alike was a chase-down block on Mike Scott 2:20 into the fourth quarter. Siakam came out of nowhere and hammered the Scott running layup off the backboard before it started its downward descent for the energy play and block of the night.
Siakam played 31:26 in the game, had four points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks.
“The run-down block that he got was just all heart and hustle and toughness and persistence,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. “That young man, I’ve said it for the last two, three weeks, he’s playing as well as anybody right now. 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.”
And while Siakam will not at this point in his career be confused for “a natural bucket getting ” like Kyle Lowry referred to DeMar DeRozan after the game, he is capable of doing so many different things for a team that he doesn’t have to be that lockdown scorer.
“We don’t need that,” Casey said of the points.
“That’s something we’ve gotta understand in our roles. He understands it, that helps everybody else. If he has an open shot, he knows he can shoot it. He’s got the green light to shoot it, if he’s open, he works on ’em. But we don’t need that. We need all the other stuff he brings. Sometimes we get caught up in points. He’s plus-17, highest on the team, and scored what, four points? So he had an impact on the game in a lot of areas other than scoring. That’s what I love about him.”
The scoring in this one was left mostly to DeRozan who has been on a tear ever since an 11-point night in that dreadful loss to Denver at the beginning of the month.
DeRozan was engaged in a scorer’s duel with Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal for most of the evening. Things stayed close through a half but as soon as Casey switched Lowry onto Beal to begin the third quarter, the Washington guard’s scoring dried up. DeRozan just continued on finishing with 33 points the fourth 30-plus point game of his season.
DeRozan though was far more entertaining talking about Siakam than he was his own game.
“I love Pascal,” DeRozan said raising his voice to make sure Siakam, who was at the moment headed back to the cold tub, heard him. “Pascal is my guy. He is my guy. He’s great. The energy he brings, just his presence, his vibe as a person is unbelievable. When you go out there on the court and see the things he is able to do is definitely great to see.”
As for Siakam’s energy level, DeRozan sounded like he wanted to give him legendary status.
“Nah, he don’t get tired,” DeRozan said scoffing at the suggestion. “I don’t understand it. Y’all should see him before practice. He’s out there doing all types of drills, already sweating and everything. It’s crazy to see.”
Fred Van Vleet, a third-year Raptor playing big minutes these days alongside Siakam in that second unit said Siakam is a uniquely driven player.
“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. 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 out-running people, out-working, flying around.”
With the win the Raptors improved to 11-5 on the season while Washington dipped to 9-7.
Toronto’s heads to New York Tuesday for a second game this week with the Knicks on Wednesday evening.
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 . ... He doesn’t seem to ever get tired.