Powell and Siakam are playing like they're coming of age
Way back when they were young — maybe five, six weeks ago — it was often an adventure to watch the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam or Norm Powell operate with a basketball in their hands.
Siakam would dribble, dribble, spin, dribble, spin the other way and a second defender would appear, the movements would get more excited. Every now and then the ball would bounce off his foot or squirt off his shin or just get away for him into the open space of the court.
Powell would take off determined to do something spectacular, maybe one-on-four in an unwinnable fast break. He would race toward the basket, get up in the air and a handful of defenders would converge. He’d either get his shot blocked or frantically toss it to some startled assistant coach.
But now Siakam and Powell seem so much older and wiser and far more in control of themselves and the basketball, the Raptors offence is humming and the two forwards are integral parts of that sweet, sweet sound.
Siakam’s controlled play has allowed him to get back to the all-star form he displayed last season and showed in fits and spurts earlier this year.
He had just two turnovers in the two games preceding Thursday’s outing in Boston after having 15 in the five games before that.
It’s hardly surprising that his production had increased, He had averaged 26.5 points and 4.5 assists in his last four games and, most importantly, he was shooting 51.3 per cent from the field and 47.0 per cent from three-point range while getting to the free throw line about seven times per game.
“The plays I like are kind of his catch (and) shoots or (the ball) comes back to him and he drives it on the catch,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I much prefer that some actions have happened, it comes around to him and he vaults up and shoots it. And I think that’s what he’s doing better.”
Siakam’s hybrid style, when he is as effective as he has been, is what separates him from all but a handful of NBA forwards.
Kyle Lowry likened him to a “four-man who can play like a two-guard” when he’s on top of his game.
“When he’s making his threes … that changes the game for everybody,” Lowry said. “His speed, his talent, his skill set, ballhandling makes him just a threat all over the floor.”
While Siakam has in many ways just reverted to form, Powell is reaching new heights in consistency and production.
He had 20 or more points in eight of nine games before Thursday, all starts, while shooting 47.5 per cent from three-point range. He had a spate of turnovers in a fivegame span (10) but had one a game for the four previous.
“I just like his decision-making right now the most,” Nurse said. “He turns the corner, he explodes to the rim. He looks really confident when it gets thrown out to him … when he rises up, you’re really expecting it to go in.”
Equally important is that Powell has been an attentive and effective defender lately. His mind had a tendency to wander at that end of the court, and he was not the most effective rebounder by any stretch of the imagination, but he seems to be a bit more focused.
“I think I noticed him making good rotations on D, blocking out a little better, all those things,” Nurse said. “But he’s certainly playing at a high, high level right now.”