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Pascal Siakam recently had an encouraging performance for the Raptors and his outing in a win over Washington on Sunday was one of them.
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In a game where two of the team’s most dangerous goal scorers, Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr., combined to shoot 6v20, Siakam got everything he wanted against the Wizards, shooting 10v21 and successful free throw. line 12 times (10th most free throw attempts by a Raptor in the past three seasons). Half of those free throws came almost immediately, as Siakam lashed out at visitors right after the ball was tipped, making it a point of honor to do so.
Siakam got baskets from just about every area and he did so without quick-breaking buckets and with just one three-point attempt.
Siakam had a great time in painting and in the midrange and, above all, he did a lot by creating for himself. Only four of his 10 shots were assisted.
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While Scottie Barnes will get there, right now Siakam and perhaps VanVleet and Trent are the Raptors most likely to effectively create for themselves. He’s got the size, speed, and athleticism to punish his opponents, as long as he doesn’t try to push things too hard, which is probably his biggest weakness. When Siakam finds the balance between always being decisive, but not trying to do too much, too quickly, he’s an all-star level player, that simple.
And he’s the top scorer for a team that doesn’t have a ton of creators.
– The Toronto bench needed a breakthrough and got it. Chris Boucher is starting to bounce back after a difficult first month. He was active, energetic and made a difference. Considering the quality of the Washington bench, led by the sixth candidate of the year, Montrezl Harrell, it was an impressive performance.
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The same is true of what Dalano Banton provided. He’s made some great finds and continues to grow as a point guard (Banton followed up with a huge performance Monday for the 905 Raptors).
– While blocks and interceptions often look flashy, you don’t always need a lot of them to play solid defense. The Raptors had recently made huge interceptions and game blocks, but rejected just one shot from Washington and had three interceptions, half of the team’s previous record for all-season interceptions (six against Boston). But they still held another opponent under 100 points and 41.1% shooting. Steals and blocks are great for fantasy basketball, but they don’t always indicate good team defense.
THREE STARS
1 Pascal Siakam
2 Kantavious Caldwell-Pape
3 Chris Boucher
