Fresh off another dominant performance, Pascal Siakam settled into his post game duties and outright dismissed the question about “Pascalifornia” – the nickname that no doubt comes as a response to “LeBronto”, but isn’t without its merits – Siakam has been fantastic in Los Angeles.
“Pfft, what is wrong with y’all, man? I don’t know man, you gotta give me a better question than that. I don’t know nothing about that. I’m just trying to play, man. Get wins for my team, and you know, if it happens to be in sunny California? I’ll take it.”
Siakam is averaging 26.4/10.2/3.6/1.8/1.6 against the Lakers since 2019-20.
Siakam is averaging 25.2/10.6/4/1/1.3 against the Clippers since 2019-20.
He’s killing it overall, and last night was no different. In a game where the Raptors best shooters shot poorly, and a Clippers team marched out the mammoth 7’1″ duo of Ivica Zubac and Isiah Hartenstein, Siakam found space for his own offense in cramped areas and pulled his team to the finish line. Half of his shot attempts came from outside of the paint, which is quite a contrast to his performances against the likes of the Magic and the Cavaliers where he lived in the paint despite all the resistance there.
Maybe the chill vibes of an elongated stay in the ‘City of Angels’ put him in a mood where he didn’t want to force as much, and chose to punish defenses for what they gave him instead. Balancing the jumper and his forceful drives in perfect harmony. The 3-point attempts came in the flow of the offense more than usual. It’s been a long time since Siakam has been able to flow to the corner and play the role of catch and shoot assassin – O’ halcyon days – but, that was the case in this one. On one play he danced in the middle of the floor, trying to put Hartenstein on skates before pulling from mid-range against the flat-footed big. On another, he pushed early, and he pushed hard. Hartenstein was wheeling backwards and Siakam pushed that momentum to the point of ultimate leverage before he rose up for a lightly contested finish at the rim. Always leveraging something. Imbalance in an opponent, balance within himself – something.
“I think the more you get in situations, for me, the better you get.” Siakam said after the win against the Clippers. “I think that’s something always that, with me starting basketball late and continuing to learn as a basketball player, is just picking up stuff. The more I see defenses, the better I get. And also, I just try to work on being composed, and just knowing where I wanna go. Kind of like, imposing my will and getting to whatever spot I wanna get to. And I think that’s what special players do, so I’m trying to learn that and do that when I can.”
Part of the growth that Siakam describes comes with how he deals with double teams. Typically, the chain of development goes something like this:
- A player, through whatever means, becomes good enough to command a double.
- A player learns what passes and reads they’re supposed to make against the double, and different types of doubles.
- A player learns how to, with their dribble or triple threat, fight off a double or keep a dig down at bay. So, they have more agency to manipulate passing lanes, or maintain their own single coverage.
Siakam is currently in development number three. He’s been great passing out of doubles all season. Probably for two seasons at this point. But, teams have found it (maybe) a bit too easy to move him off the ball. Especially when other players are struggling, and it might be in the Raptors best interest to keep Siakam on ball and in attack mode. Siakam beat two doubles in a row to score against the Clippers in the second quarter. On the first, Zubac stepped out for the double and Siakam went up court to get Zubac to back off. The moment Zubac turned his head, Siakam re-engaged Luke Kennard, spun to the rim, and beat Zubac to the glass for a bucket. Terrific stuff. The next possession? Marcus Morris tried to pursue him from the low-man spot, and he went middle to finish over Reggie Jackson. These possessions would not have been better served with passes. These possessions bore fruit because Siakam was aggressive as hell.
“I just think that’s (about) continuing to get better at reading the defense, and I think being patient.” Pascal said in response to scoring against doubles. “I think sometimes when you see the double you kinda panic, but I’m just staying calm. And sometimes you know, if it’s fake (a stunt), or if it’s actually a double team, you know? Passing out of it, I don’t think that’s a problem it’s always good offense. So, just trying to see, make plays, and just be the best that I can be as a playmaker and also as a scorer.”
Late in the game, Siakam passed out of doubles. He saw early doubles, he saw late doubles, and he even saw a ‘switch to blitz’ (which is a new wrinkle to NBA defenses). He passed out of these situations, putting his trust in the likes of Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes. Open 3-pointers were missed. VanVleet was doubled as well, and sure enough the Raptors tried to lean on Barnes to close out the game. And why not? Barnes has been in a terrific run of form, he’s been overwhelming his defenders in all sorts of situations lately, why not here? Barnes has had some success scoring late in the past. So, was this passiveness on Siakam’s part? Or, was it a vote of confidence for the young (and inevitable star) Barnes? The results were mixed, but the experience is invaluable.
While things did get tense down the stretch, and a combination of turnover defense and plucky offensive plays saw the Raptors through it, the game was won over 48 minutes. Siakam was a +2 over his first 12 minute stretch, +7 over his 19 minute one, and +1 over his last 8. The Raptors win when he’s on the floor, whether it’s early or late in the game. His control over the offense isn’t where some other All-NBA talents have it, but his defense eclipses many of theirs. He’s a winning player.
It’s no wonder Siakam hated “Pascalifornia” after hearing it. He’s had fun branding himself with “insert adjective” before ‘P’, but that’s for fun. The moniker he’s really looking for is ‘All-NBA’, and if he keeps playing like this? It’s coming.
Have a blessed day.
