Stardom isn’t ever one thing. It’s a constant rotation of your own strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to the opposing team and your teammates. Sure, every once in awhile there is a takeover mode, but often times wins can be found at the team level and by assuming a role. For the longest time, Siakam has been sliding in and around stars who see more of the ball than he does. Fresh off his second All-NBA selection, Siakam is the one who decides when to implement his own game – no one else.
“I worked on my game a lot, I know some of the things I can do.” Siakam said. “But, I think that at the same time, it’s just finding ways to get my teammates better at the end of the day, that’s the kind of player I am, so I have to figure out that balance.”
Siakam wore a lot of hats in last night’s game. He was the bludgeoning, battering ram for the offense in the halfcourt and in transition in the first half. In the second half, he started picking up Donovan Mitchell at the point of attack before finding a comfortable spot on Evan Mobley (so he could help off of him). Hell, this Raptors starting lineup has historically struggled on the glass, they’re facing one of the biggest frontcourts in the NBA, and Siakam walks off the court as the player who grabbed the most rebounds – between both teams.
That’s Nate. Nate is on my ear about rebounding every time out, every time we see each other in practice, that’s the first thing he tells me. He really believes I can be one of those guys that rebounds the basketball a lot and I appreciate that from him. I hear it every day. So that’s why I try to go out there and try to get as many rebounds as I can. Obviously, I pay attention to it now because he’s constantly in my ear about it and I think it makes my game better anyway and it helps the team win, that’s what I think about.
– Pascal Siakam on his uptick in rebounds
Score in isolation, score on post-ups, lead grab-and-go possessions, organize offensive possessions, guard an All-NBA guard, now rotate to the rim to protect it and rebound. At Siakam’s size? There are virtually no players who can do this stuff. The efficiency is what has kept Siakam out of MVP talks, obviously, but the versatility is astounding.
Part of that starts with the approach and a calmness to an opening night that may have forced him out of a game plan before. “It’s the first game of the season, and for me, when I was younger, I think you get really antsy and it’s super crazy and feels like a big moment.” Siakam said after the win. “But I think once you, I’ve been around a little bit, so I kind of understand that it’s one in 82, so it’s hard to take things from the first game, obviously, you want to continue to get better, you know that it’s not going to be perfect. You’ve got to continue to improve.”
In the 3rd quarter he was the lone shot-maker for a stretch and despite his best efforts, some shots popped out. Still though, he did keep the Raptors afloat for as long as he could, and while different lineups and players ended up stealing the show (and deservedly), Siakam did his part however he could manage – something Fred VanVleet appreciated: “He definitely steadied us a little bit in the third. We relied on him a bit to carry us offensively, just scoring one-on-one and making plays. I thought we lost our rhythm a little bit when Garland went down. The game stalled out and they made a big push after that. Pascal did a good job of keeping us there and we were able to get control of it again there in the fourth.”
This has always been the appeal of Siakam. It always looks better when he finishes games going 9-15 from the floor with 8-10 shooting from the line and a boatload of assists, but in games like these it becomes easier and easier to tell why Siakam wins games with these Raptors. The ebb and flow of a game will ask a lot of a player, and it won’t always be to score – other teammates need possessions, opportunities, room to grow. Siakam is special, a winner, because when the shot isn’t falling, or someone else’s is, he can fade back into a star in his role.
At 98-97, Siakam played Mitchell at the POA, switched the screening action and got his hand on a pocket pass meant for Allen. It ended up as a turnover, a steal that Anunoby was credited with. The ball squirts up the court, Anunoby trails the play, and finishes at the rim. The Raptors next score is a massive three-pointer from Gary Trent Jr. that was made because of a breakdown in the Cavaliers defense – that breakdown was the result of the 4-1 Ghost screen with Siakam on ball. Then Mobley came down the floor and tried to iso on Siakam, and missed. One of the most important runs of the game, a run that Siakam was integral in, and the box score acknowledges him in no part of that stretch. The calm, guiding excellence of a multitalented star really is something.
And the cool thing? Siakam will go dive into the film after this and figure out how he can improve his already impressive, holistic process. “I have to see if I made the right reads,” Siakam said. “I think I had one assist. Just gotta go back and see what I could have done better. If, you know, maybe I was early or was I passing too late? Or the ones that I pass and the shot didn’t go in, what can I do right?”
Onward and upward. We’ll see what type of star Siakam is for the short road trip in Brooklyn and Miami.
Have a blessed day.
