Defense in the NBA is all about counterpunches. Offense in the NBA is all about taking as much as you can while it’s available to you, and trying like hell to make it work when it isn’t. Pascal Siakam took the Celtics – took the Celtics? sounds like a bank heist, or casino winnings – for 25 points in the first half. The counterpunch came, the Celtics loaded up with everything they had and dared the rest of the Raptors to beat them. It worked. Siakam saw it was working, took 15 more points anyway, and led the Raptors one win closer to the controlled destiny of avoiding the play-in. A 40-point masterpiece.
The game started out as many other have – with a less than stellar start from a swath of Raptors. Boston left a lot of their big name players back home, and whether it was pure coincidence, some sort of “we can take it easy” mentality, or a bad run of form they had to cut short, the Raptors didn’t bring the energy or discipline necessary to hang with the NBA team across from them. Siakam’s 25 point half kept them in it (the 10th 25-point half of his career) as the defense faltered and the offense sputtered.
“You think about it a little bit, but at the same time, it’s the NBA. And they’re a tough program, and they always have guys that have some pride and want to go out there and get wins.” Siakam said of the Celtics missing some of their core players. “This is the NBA, every game is the same no matter who’s out there. Obviously, you know what I mean, they have a different team when those guys are there, but at the same time they came out, they had a lot of energy, they played hard. They made some shots early on, what was it like a 38-point quarter? So, they came in ready to play. And I think that’s what happens most of the time when you have guys out.”
Siakam tested the waters of his outside shot, didn’t like the results, and went into a slow, overwhelming attack from the middle of the floor. Every dribble was bait for a defender to cheat over, or the pounding of a clock counting down to his inevitable score. With all of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., and OG Anunoby in the lineup the Celtics were hesitant to throw extra bodies his way. 21 minutes, 13 shots in the paint, and 12 of them (12!!!) went in. The hubris of “our guy can take him” spelled doom for the Celtics defense.
After a prolonged stretch where the Raptors were without VanVleet, Trent Jr., and Anunoby – Siakam no doubt felt like Harry Potter: Forced to create magic in a broom closet, and now in a world of endless possibilities. No one could mistake Siakam for a selfish player. Not only is he recognized as part of the NBA’s elite class of big playmakers, but nothing in his game screams “I’m getting mine.”. But, released from defenses that constantly live in the gaps, double, stunt, and rely on single coverage? The blinders were on and the buckets came. NBA defenses are a maze with a million different outcomes, but Siakam kept finding his way to the front of the rim. The unique mix of Siakam’s speed, dexterity, and bursts of strength left defenders puffing out their chest to embrace a bump that never came.
“That’s what happens for me. I feel like most of the time, I always look at the help. That’s kinda like what I’m seeing, you know, I’m not seeing anything else and that’s kinda like my mindset. I think the way they were guarding me, it wasn’t that much pressure, so I had kind of a head of steam to get to the rim.” Siakam said of the Celtics early defense. “And, you know, those baskets fell. Those touch shots and things I usually have, they fell, which helped. I just think that it just depends on how they were playing me and it felt like I had an advantage. And again, it helps if there’s no help, you know? So, yeah.”
The adjustment was the real road block for the Raptors. The assumption was that the Raptors would be better prepared for a limited Celtics team after halftime, and that their shooting talent would catch up to them. They shot 3-11 from downtown in the first half, and the aforementioned trio of shooters (OG, Fred, Gary) average nearly 10 makes a game by their lonesome, and do it at roughly 38-percent. They shot 7-28 from downtown in the second half. The Celtics abandoned their game plan in favour of throwing more attention Siakam’s way, and so the ball funneled elsewhere. A quick, gritty defender would dig into Siakam’s dribble, the Celtics would send a double the moment he got below the free throw line, and other players had to make plays. The Raptors shot chart changed radically, more players took part, but the shooting didn’t improve. Siakam only took 3 shots in the 3rd quarter.
From the 7-minute mark in the 4th quarter until the final buzzer sounded, Siakam got up 8 shots and made half of them – along with 2 incredibly important free throws. The Raptors ran decoy actions to preoccupy help-side defenders, Siakam chose his spots carefully, and then less discriminately (out of necessity) and forced the Raptors back into the game with the help of two very timely VanVleet triples. It was incredible to watch him work.
“It’s tough, right? It’s like a little tough line you have to walk through.” Siakam said of playing with a lot of fouls late in games. “It’s just hard, and for me it was just instinct. Just going out there, wherever I feel – for the longest time I thought I had 4 fouls to be honest with you! The whole time I had 5 fouls, I thought I had 4 in my head. So, maybe if I didn’t think that I would’ve been a little less aggressive, but nah I just wanted to make plays and we needed those plays. I felt like, you know, why not? I wasn’t really thinking about fouling out, to be honest.”
And in overtime? Siakam pieced together one of the most impactful, dominant minutes of basketball you’ll see during this regular season. From 2:40 to 1:18 in OT, Siakam sparkled. A perfect defensive partnership of Siakam and Young cut the legs off of a Celtics screening action for a stop, then Siakam came down the floor and had his shot touch every part of the bucket before popping out, but finding its way back into his hands where he deftly laid it back in. He followed that up by couching a step back jumper between two blocks. From down one, to up four. He scored the four points, and took 4 points away from the Celtics. If you were in a court room and needed to state your case on the importance of two-way play, you might bring up LeBron James’ block in Andre Iguodala and this run of play from Siakam to do it. And not to mention, he did the damn thing with 5 fouls.
Siakam eventually fouled out on a loose ball foul, he watched Trent Jr. hit a couple free throws, and his teammates get a stop. He brought them right up to the finish line, all they had to do was fall over. He lifted the Raptors past the scrappy Celtics, and did so with little in the way of help. He did what superstars do. Not All-Stars, not stars – superstars.
Have a blessed day.
