The Raptors 28-year-old forward is off to a career-best start for Toronto.
Patience.
That’s the defining word of Pascal Siakam’s first eight games to open 2022-23. Pick your preferred synonym, if you must. Composure also works.
Either way, he’s expanded upon his All-NBA form of last season to further affirm his superstar status, especially as an offensive hub. Defenses seem increasingly stressed and concerned about directing focus toward stymying him.
His talented Toronto Raptor teammates are sometimes treated as afterthoughts on the mission to slow him. Guys like Scottie Barnes, Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoboy — a quartet of top-100 or better players — are waltzing into profitable opportunities because of Siakam’s domineering aura. His offensive burden is mammoth. Everyone else’s is easier, and he helps them capitalize on that.
Through eight games, the 28-year-old wing is averaging 25.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
All of those are career-best numbers. Even the per-game stats are the high-water marks of his career on a per-possession basis. Toronto is handing him more duties and his response is to solidify their confidence by leveling up again.
Siakam previously established a career-high usage rate of 27.9 percent in 2019-20, the year he notched his first All-Star berth. It’s hovered around there since — until this year, when Toronto decided to gauge the full scope of his creation endeavors. Only seven players average more touches per game than him, according to NBA.com.
As a result of the Raptors’ steadfast faith in their superstar, opponents are sending more waves of help his way, particularly on his post and face-up touches, and doing so with haste. In response to the increased pressure, his processing has never been sharper. He’ll hold the ball a beat longer to pull defenders completely into his orbit without working himself into a precarious position. He’ll take an extra step and force defenders to choose between helping on him or recovering to their assignment. His midrange gravity is immense and he excels at scanning the floor from a live dribble.
Instead of adhering to their fundamental responsibilities, defenders fixate on discerning a counter to his specific exploits, which paves the way for his playmaking to flourish. They abandon commonsense against him. His greatness warps their defensive decision-making into detrimental actions.
According to Synergy, when the defense commits, his points per possession rank in the 89th percentile or better in pick-and-rolls, isolation and post-ups, all substantial jumps from 2021-22. He simply is not flustered, regardless of how many eyeballs, limbs and bodies are determined to frustrate him. The timing on his slew of varied passing reads is pristine.
Siakam’s passing uptick has arrived in tandem with scoring progression. He’s amid his most prolific bucket-getting and creating campaign. Sixty-seven percent of his makes are unassisted, the gaudiest rate of his seven-year career. The smorgasbord of scoring is on display. He’s delivering in the post, as a driver and pull-up sniper, and even splashing home some off-screen triples.
Anecdotally, it seems Toronto is scheming more mismatches for him, whether he’s receiving or setting a screen. So many teams in the regular season will surrender their advantage on switches and the Raptors are exploiting that apathy.
The proper archetype to curtail him hasn’t been unearthed yet this season, despite facing a multifaceted gamut of defenders already. Against bigs, his slippery handle and burst fuel his slashing. If they sag off, he buries open jumpers. In Toronto’s 119-109 victory over Philadelphia last week, P.J. Tucker tried the latter tactic and Siakam torched it. When smaller dudes try to crowd his handle, he leverages his size, strength and length advantage to discard them, shooting over the top with ease.
His intermediate touch on the move, through contact and from funky angles is elite. He’s comfortable maneuvering through small spaces like few others his size. The NBA’s premier initiators prosper in tight windows, and Siakam is no different. Most are just not 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan.
Physicality is his ally. He loves to use his elbows, hips and shoulders to apply subtle contact for minor separation inside the arc. When defenders try to employ bully ball and rattle him, he calmly endures it en route to shots he’s attempted countless times. He assesses defenders and picks from his array of creation avenues to strike.
Siakam’s intersection of size, speed, flexibility, functional handle, balance and physicality render him a distinct cover. He’s keenly aware of his novel existence, and looks a little quicker and more physical this year. His .412 free-throw rate is by far a career-high (.320 in 2018-19).
The emphasis on mismatch-hunting undoubtedly helps, but Siakam is also supremely difficult to prevent from frequenting his desired spots and that’s borne out thus far. If he reaches them and is greeted by newfound defensive pressure, he’s unfazed and methodical. His means of compromising the opposition is wide-ranging.
Everything he’s exhibiting through two weeks is that of a superstar readily equipped to assume all the expectations associated with a preeminent offensive focal point. The manner in which he wilts defensive shells and exposes their breakdowns as a scorer, foul-drawer and facilitator are that of someone ascending toward the utmost tier of creators. Glimpses were often evident last season, yet they weren’t strung together quite as regularly as this year. Those flashes appear to be an outdated relic, replaced by present-day consistency.
Siakam’s basketball journey is headlined by unrelenting, expedient momentum. Now that he’s here, though, patience is the guiding characteristic of his latest development. As he spearheads the 5-3 Raptors and their third-ranked offense, patience has him playing better than ever.
