Star treatment cuts both ways
Expectations are sky high this season for the Raptors’ Siakam, who is adjusting on the fly to attention from opposing defences
Pascal Siakam was in the middle of a tug of war between two of the NBA’s top stars.
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, captains for the Feb. 16 all-star game in Chicago, drafted rosters from a pool of the league’s elite on Thursday night. With the first pick, James chose Lakers teammate Anthony Davis. The Bucks’ Antetokounmpo, whose parents are Nigerian, countered by selecting his “African brother” — Cameroon-born Joel Embiid of the 76ers.
Ex-Raptor Kawhi Leonard, now a Los Angeles Clipper, went to Team LeBron with the third pick. That’s when Antetokounmpo selected his “second African brother” — Siakam, also of Cameroon descent.
“Oh, that was a good pick right there, Giannis,” James said during the televised draft. “That was going to be my next pick. Oh my goodness, I was going to take Pascal for sure.”
Siakam is getting used to the attention. Leonard’s off-season departure to the Clippers as a free agent left Siakam — voted the NBA’s most improved player last season — with an even bigger role to play for the defending champions. A four-year contract extension worth $130 million (U.S.) added to heightened expectations, and opponents have definitely been giving the six-foot-nine forward the star treatment.
Wednesday night’s home win over the Indiana Pacers — the Raptors’ opponent again on Friday night in Indianapolis — was a case in point.
The Pacers put up as aggressive a defence as Siakam has seen this season, throwing two, three, sometimes four defenders in his face — from the weak side, the baseline, the top of the key. The Raptors all-star made just one of his first eight field-goal attempts in the paint as Pacers defenders pounced on the catch, the first dribble, even his patented spin move — which has stumped most defenders who have tried to stop it.
Siakam was still getting to good spots to shoot, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said post-game, but the Pacers were able to keep him off-balance.
The fourth-year forward — who has been moonlighting as a centre at times, including Wednesday’s game, with Marc Gasol sidelined by a hamstring injury — says the increased defensive pressure has come as no surprise. He expected to be a target this season, given the way things played out. The way he has dealt with that pressure, though, suggests he can handle it.
“I understand what it’s going to take,” Siakam said.
When he wasn’t making shots early against Indiana on Wednesday, Siakam was setting up teammates — including a sublime pass out to Terence Davis II for a three-pointer in the first quarter, shortly after finding Kyle Lowry for a floating jump shot. The ball-handler in Siakam was averaging 69.9 touches per game heading into Friday night’s game, up from 59.1 last year and third on the team behind point men Lowry and Fred VanVleet.
His 3.5 assists per game, meanwhile, marked a significant jump from a career average of 2.2 — 3.1 in the Raptors’ championship season.
Patience is key, he says, as he tries to break down a tough defence — learning on the fly and making decisions in the blink of an eye under immense pressure: “There’s times where I’m going to pass it out, and there’s times where I’ve got to take matters in my own hands and I’ve got to make the play. It’s just a read.”
Regular-season games against Indiana may be a tough matchup for Siakam now, but should help down the road if they meet in the post-season — when the Raptors will ask even more of their star forward.
“He’s always going to get better. He’s going to continue to grow,” said fellow all-star Lowry, who will also suit up for Team Giannis — coached by Nurse and the Raptors’ staff.
“That’s the way (the Pacers) play defence: They load up on one side, they tilt strong. But that’s the type of teams we play, and Pascal is going to continue to get better with that.”
It’s a lot of pressure for a 25-year-old who only picked up basketball a decade ago, but Wednesday’s game also showed Siakam’s resiliency. He put up 10 points in the final 5:15 to help the Raptors rally for a 119-118 victory.
“At the end of the day, I’m gonna keep doing me,” Siakam said. “It don’t matter what the result is, or if I make 20 shots or miss 20 shots … I have to keep the same attitude. It’s just on me to continue to make sure that I just go out there and be the best player that I can be. Most nights, if I give my all, I’m OK.”