Pascal Siakam Still Making an Impact Without Scoring

Can you shoot 5-for-19 from the field and have a really good game?

To most people, the answer is no. That kind of inefficiency is why Toronto Raptors’ forward Pascal Siakam has repeatedly been questioned throughout these playoffs. He’s been deemed the top scoring option for Toronto and the Heir apparent to Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors’ throne, so when he shoots 26.3% from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range in an elimination game it understandably raises questions. 

If this was just one off night from Siakam there wouldn’t be nearly as much criticism, but Siakam has looked off since the NBA returned, seeing his offensive efficiency drop across the board.

Yet Raptors coach Nick Nurse wasn’t upset with Siakam’s performance in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics.

“I think he played a really good game last night. I really do,” Nurse said Thursday. “He didn’t make maybe as many as we all wanted him to or he even wanted to or whatever, but I thought he got to spots, his decisions were good, he had some opportunities and I liked the opportunities a lot. You know, maybe — it looked to me he’s getting closer to finding some better spaces and better areas to operate from, and a better rhythm and tempo to his own game now. They just need to go in now. They need to quit popping out and pop back in once in a while and he’ll be much happier.”

Had a few more of his shots fallen Wednesday night there might be a very different conversation happening about Siakam’s offensive game. But while it’s easy to focus on what Siakam does or doesn’t do scoring-wise, his impact as a 6-foot-10 versatile forward cannot be overlooked.

“I’m way more than just a person who can score or whatever,” Siakam said after Game 4. “I have a lot of ways that I can impact the game. I think sometimes you can get caught up in makes and misses. It’s the league. It’s basketball. Sometimes you’re gonna make shots and sometimes you’re not gonna make shots. I just have got to understand that I’ve got to keep doing other things.”

Passing:

Siakam had six assists on Wednesday night, tying his series-high and creating 15 Raptors points via the pass.

The most impressive of his assists came in early in the third quarter when he posted up Jaylen Brown before throwing a kick-out pass to Fred VanVleet the moment Kemba Walker collapsed in for the double team. 

It was the perfect play by Siakam who has struggled at times posting up Celtics defenders but twice created 3-point shots out of post-up possessions.

Defence:

Even with his offence struggling at times, Siakam has been an important defensive cog for the Raptors throughout the series. 

He’s leading all Raptors players in shot contests in the series, averaging 10.5 contest per game including 16 in Game 6 and 17 in Game 5. In Game 6, he did a fantastic job stopping Jayson Tatum who did not score a single point in 15.7 partial possessions against Siakam, according to NBA Stats, most of which came in crunch time.

That defensive fortitude is partially why he finished the game plus-12 in 54 minutes, the most of any player in the game.

While there is still a long way for Siakam to go offensively, he’s doing a lot of the right things elsewhere on the court. Now it’s just a matter of finishing more often.

“I’m not saying it’s there [offensively] but it’s getting closer,” Nurse said after Game 6. “There’s a possibility it could be there when the ball goes up Friday.”