Pascal Siakam Out Of Starting Lineup For Raptors

Pascal Siakam will be a healthy scratch for the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night against the New York Knicks. The decision to bench Siakam is reportedly due to disciplinary reasons after he fouled out and walked off the court at the end of Toronto’s 100-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

With Siakam out, the Raptors will bump Norman Powell into the starting lineup and shift OG Anunoby over to the power forward position.

The 26-year-old Siakam has had a disappointing start to the 2020-21 season. He’s averaging 18.7 points on 39% shooting with just two points scored in the fourth quarter.

He fouled out of the Raptors’ last game against the Philadelphia 76ers and immediately walked off the court toward the locker room with time remaining in the game. Nurse was asked about the incident after the game and said he hadn’t seen it.

“I’m sure I will hear about it,” Nurse said. “I’ll address it when I get back in the locker room. I’m sure he was frustrated. He had a difficult night at the offensive end, and obviously, he fouled out. I’m sure he was frustrated.”

While Siakam has struggled to start the year, Powell has not played particularly well either. He’s scored just six points on 17% shooting through the Raptors’ first three games of the year.