Imagine if the real Pascal Siakam showed up. Imagine where the Toronto Raptors would be then in their best-of-seven second-round series against the Boston Celtics.
Which Siakam?
You know, the one who looked like a borderline MVP candidate for most of the regular season; the one who deservedly started in his first NBA all-star game in February, the one who was a match-up terror on offence and a Swiss Army knife defender.
The guy who will be earning just short of max money in the first year of a four-year, $130-million extension and is well worth the investment.
That guy.
The guy who could put up a 28-point, 10-rebound line in a grinding, physical playoff game against an elite opponent and lead his team to multiple wins.
Imagine.
But here’s the thing. That Siakam has showed up in Games 3 and 4 against the Celtics, but oddly, only in the second half of each game.
He played all 48 minutes and put up 28 points and 10 rebounds on 48 per cent shooting with a combined net rating of 40.5. It may or may not be related, but the Raptors won all four of those quarters, one of the main reasons they are tied 2-2 and in position to take control of the series with a win in Game 5 after falling into an 0-2 hole.
With the Raptors now in a best-of-three series with the Celtics to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, it would helpful if Siakam could stretch his effectiveness but there doesn’t seem to be a particular pattern to learn from.
“I haven’t really seen anything,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “I mean, I would assume some of the regular stuff: a few more opportunities, a little bit more aggressive, I don’t know.
“Even though he didn’t score a lot yesterday in the first half, I thought that from the second half of Game 3 and both halves of Game 4, he’s made good decisions,” Nurse said. “I think he’s drawn defenders and got off it and he’s put it in the basket when he’s been left single-covered a little bit more.”
There is a flip side to this, of course. It wouldn’t be a topic if there wasn’t.
Siakam is still shooting just 40.1 per cent from the field for the playoffs and 38.9 per cent for the series. In the first halves of Games 3 and 4, he was at 4-for-13 from the floor, or shooting 30.7 per cent.
If there is a theme to his second-half resurgences, it’s that Siakam finds a way to score in the paint. A 36 per cent three-point shooter over the regular season, Siakam is misfiring badly from deep. He was 2-for-13 in Game 4 and is now shooting just 22.2 per cent from deep in the playoffs.
For the record, Nurse is not among the chorus clamouring for Siakam to give up on high-volume triples for the moment.
“I believe in his mechanics and I believe in his percentages over the long haul and he’s made a good percentage in the playoffs, especially last year’s playoffs,” Nurse said. “So, I think they’re in there. What I like is the demeanor of which he’s taking them and how he’s reacting to the result, which is pretty level headed, he looks like, when they come to him, he looks like he feels like he’s going to make them and that’s what his body and his facial expressions tell me and then when he misses it he kind of says ‘man I took a good shot and I’m going to continue to take them.’ That’s what I like, I think he’s taking them like he means it.”
But in each of his last two games, Siakam has got his game rolling by looking to score more in the paint. He was 1-of-8 from three in the first half, but he altered his approach somewhat in the second as he scored five of his six second-half field goals from two-point range, including a couple of post-up with two feet in the paint that seemed to get him going. It was a similar story in Game 3 as his first two of five second-half field goals came at the rim on moves where he was in the paint before he ever got the ball.
Siakam said it wasn’t by design – he still shot his share of threes – but his second-half bursts were more a case of him not letting his first half struggles drag him down.
“(I’m) just understanding what I need to do. My abilities, what I can do on the floor, I’m way more than just a person who can score or whatever,” he 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. So that’s something that I’m focussing on, so I’m not worried about makes or misses. I want to have an impact on the game in a lot of different ways.”
To his credit and the Raptors benefit, Siakam hasn’t let his offensive ebbs and flows affect his defence. He was spectacular defensively in Game 4 in particular, getting credit for a game-high 17 shot contests, per NBA.com – the next best on either team was 11 – and 10 contests against Celtics triples, likely a contributing factor to Boston shooting 7-of-35 from three and the largest single factor explaining the Celtics’ loss.
“I mean if you’re 1-for-10 from three, you’ve got to find something else to do,” said Siakam, who is in the top-five for contested threes in the playoffs. “At the end of the day, that’s what I’ve got to do. If you’re not making shots, find ways to impact the game. That’s all I’m about. I’m always gonna do that.”
It’s appreciated.
“I mean, he’s got such a special ability,” Nurse said. “I always talk about what are his gifts? His gifts are: he’s got a great motor, can play with energy, he can do a lot, he’s got great length and athleticism, he’s quick, change of direction, that’s what kind of makes him, he’s in the paint, then he’s back out. When he’s doing that at a high concentration level his natural abilities are certainly gonna help him and then help our team.”
If he can start his second-half offensive contributions a little earlier, so much the better.
