Columnist image

TSN Raptors Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO – A year ago at this time, Pascal Siakam had already fallen out of the Raptors rotation. The young forward played 806 minutes in 48 games to that point but would log just 53 in seven contests over the remainder of his rookie season.

Of course, the mid-February acquisition of Serge Ibaka had something to do with that, but Siakam started to lose his playing time over a month earlier. Despite a promising start to his NBA career and all of his obvious strengths – his defensive versatility, speed and unrelenting motor – he had become something of a liability on offence.

As teams picked up on his reluctance to shoot the outside jumper, they began to ignore him on the perimeter, meaning DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and others would see additional defensive attention.

In 12 months, Siakam has gone from being borderline unplayable to a crucial contributor on the best team in the Eastern Conference and, strangely enough, he’s done it without improving the actual weakness that seemed to be holding him back most.

Admittedly, his three-point shooting is still a work in progress. While he certainly hasn’t been shy, launching 106 treys – 99 more than he did all of last season – he’s only hit 19 per cent of them.

So, how has he been able to stay on the floor?

There’s more than one way to attack a defence that isn’t respecting your shot, as Siakam has learned. Exhibit A: Bucks all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak is a career 28 per cent three-point shooter so, naturally, most teams opt to give him space and dare him to take the jumper.

How has that worked out? Antetokounmpo is the league’s third-leading scorer and, most would argue, a top-five overall NBA player. Eventually it’s assumed he’ll add the three-ball – at which point, watch out – but, even without it, stopping him is easier said than done because of all the things he can do with the ball. He’s long, he’s fast, he can beat you off the dribble and get to the rim or make a quick pass to set up his teammates.

Get too close and he’ll blow right by you. Back off and play him for the drive and he’ll find another way to make you pay.

As a sophomore, Siakam has taken a page out of that book. The biggest difference in his game this season is his improved playmaking ability. It’s opened up a multitude of new possibilities – both for the player and the team – and unlocked potential that many didn’t even realize he had.

“He’s done a heck of a job working on his ball-handling, decision-making and understanding of taking up the gap when teams don’t close out to him all the way,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey following Toronto’s 123-94 win over Detroit. “He’s learned that skill.”

“I’m really impressed with Pascal. He’ll embarrass you if you don’t play to his speed and his tempo.”

Despite missing the only three he attempted in Monday’s decisive victory, Siakam scored 11 points in 24 minutes and was a plus-15, second to only Delon Wright. Perhaps most impressively, he recorded a career-high tying six assists for the second time this month. Siakam ranks fourth among Toronto’s regular rotation players in assist ratio (percentage of a player’s individual possessions that end in an assist), just ahead of DeRozan and trailing only the three point guards – Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Wright.

He’s almost looked like a different player in his second season, proving to be more than just an energy guy. Even in today’s position-less NBA, Siakam’s diverse skill set sets him apart. The Raptors are already calling him a point forward and some have taken the praise even further.

“I call him our Draymond Green,” said DeRozan, likening him to the Warriors all-star. “The way he brings up the ball, gets us into things and gets us open shots. He’s got a little ISO game, too.”

When Casey held his annual end-of-season exit meetings with each player last spring, he and Siakam identified a couple areas of focus for the 24-year-old’s summertime workouts. The first was obvious: three-point shooting. They knew that extending his range wouldn’t be easy – he attempted just 24 threes in two college seasons at New Mexico State and his first year in the NBA combined – but at least the process would be relatively straightforward: lock yourself in a gym and take hundreds of jumpers, which he did and continues to do, almost daily.

However, the other would be more complicated. How does one become a better passer, a better decision-maker? Siakam spent most of the off-season training with some of the team’s other young players in Los Angeles. His routine would begin with a series of ball-handling drills, focused primarily on getting more comfortable dribbling with his weaker left hand. In their scrimmages he would play the point.

It was an adjustment at first, the idea of having the ball in his hands and needing to make decisions on the fly. It’s not something he was used to. Even as a scorer at New Mexico State (he averaged 20.3 points in his sophomore season) he was almost exclusively a post player. Still, it was something he wanted to do, something he knew he could do long before this summer.

“Even at practice [in college] I always liked to play against guards,” Siakam told TSN. “I didn’t like playing one-on-one against bigs, I just liked playing against guards – just trying to see what they do and how they move and the things that they do on the court. I just like it better. I think it’s a more fun way to play.”

His logic was sound. He saw the way the game was changing and, with his skill set in mind, he recognized the value in being able to defend multiple positions. But, even if he could defend multiple positions, eventually he knew he would have to be able to play multiple positions to stay on the floor.

“It was always something that I wanted to do because I always thought, even college, that I had the foot speed to guard twos and threes, so I told myself that if I could guard the position I can play that position. That was always my mindset so I never [thought] of myself as a big or as a guard, I just always wanted to be an overall basketball player.”

“And if you want to play any position you have to handle the ball.”

The Raptors didn’t envision Siakam blossoming into a playmaker when they drafted him 27th overall in 2016 – they were enamoured by his motor, his work ethic and his spirit more than anything else – but they’re not entirely surprised either. For a player that didn’t even pick up the sport until he was 18, he’s always displayed remarkable instincts.

After opening the season as the odd man out in Casey’s rotation, Siakam has earned the coach’s trust and become a staple in one of the league’s best lineups. In fact, Toronto’s second unit of Siakam, Wright, VanVleet, C.J. Miles and Jakob Poeltl has the best net rating of any five-man lineup that’s played at least 100 minutes together this season.

No, he’s not Draymond Green but his role in the Raptors version of the death lineup is similar. His versatility on defence allows them to switch more than they ever have before. His ability to grab a defensive rebound, bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offence allows them to push the tempo. His chemistry with the other four guys – particularly his best friend Poeltl, who he threw an alley-oop to on Monday – and his freedom to quarterback from the power forward position spreads the floor even if his shot doesn’t.

His next step, as Casey frequently points out, is adding a consistent three-pointer to his rapidly expanding arsenal. His teammates all say it’s a matter of when, not if. Until then, his continued growth in the other facets of his game is not only keeping him on the floor, it’s allowing him to thrive when he’s out there.

“If the ball comes to me and I feel like I’m ready to shoot it, I’m going to shoot it,” Siakam said. “And if I feel like, hey, this guy is not faster than me, I’m going to blow by him. I think it comes with just playing, more experience, more playing time, being on the floor, reading things, watching film and just trying to see what people tend to do against me and work on how to attack that.”

“He makes quick decisions,” said Casey. “He does a good job of really reading situations and moving without the ball on the baseline. The last thing to come will be his three-point shooting. Once he does that, I think his career will take off.”