“It looked like he hadn’t missed a game.” As if nothing had happened, or almost, Pascal Siakam regained its place and its effectiveness within the five major Raptors, and Nick Nurse did not fail to welcome his return, on the occasion of the reception of Cleveland.
“Almost” because the Scotiabank Arena had still given him a special welcome for his big comeback after three weeks spent in the infirmary because of an adductor injury.
A shock start
After an absence of ten games, the Toronto winger quickly found his marks and his leadership costume, scoring his team’s first two baskets, including a “floater” in transition registered in the racket after a “spin move” which made the assembly shudder with pleasure. He then offered himself a “fadeaway” on Isaac Okoro.
Something to reassure everyone about his state of form and what he will quickly be able to bring to a team still in search of benchmarks after a significant series of injuries.
“I felt good. From the first minutes, everything went well. Of course, the legs get a little tired, but that was expected. Overall, I liked my game, I tried to do everything, defend, do the little things, just try to get back into the game. I’m glad to be back with the guys “.
The handyman
Author of 18 points (7/14), 11 rebounds and 5 assists, he almost instantly became this “facilitator” again, able to create his own shot or make the right readings to make his teammates shine.
“My team knows what I’m capable of, it hasn’t changed since my absence. I try to keep up the pace. Everyone knows that if someone is open I will find the right player, just by trying to play well. We must continue to apply this identity around our team, continue to work hard. We know that to win, we have to stick together… I can’t do it alone, no one can.”, he added.
A treat for his teammates like Scottie Barnes, his biggest fan, who was also making his comeback last night, and who obviously enjoyed the “Siakam Show”.
“It was great to have Pascal back, we saw him do incredible things, score at a high level, be effective, rebound, lead the game in transition, everything he brings to our team. », he recalled. “It’s always amazing to see Pascal play. We say to ourselves: ‘Wow, every move he makes, the step-backs, the spin-moves, you see it coming, but it fits anyway’. It was great to be able to count on him again”.
Inspiration from the game
Pascal Siakam notably had this brilliant inspiration with this volley pass in transition for an easy dunk from OG Anonuby, the man in form of the Raptors. It is also the symbol of the “franchise player” that he is, always ready to help others.
“I love to shine my teammates, put them in the bath. For me, it’s about understanding the game a little better, and being the person who raises our level of play. And that goes through those kinds of actions, putting pressure on the ball, offering an open shot to a teammate, and just for me, as a basketball player, it’s always good to do cool moves like this”, he confided.
The objective will now be to capitalize on this feedback and why not start a series. Toronto has not yet managed to line up three straight wins and Nick Nurse’s players will have the opportunity to do so tomorrow night on the Pelicans floor.
“We are really different when we find the guys we have recently missed. We had small glitches, injuries. But I have the feeling that we are much better than our record of 11 wins for 9 losses. We let slip games that we should have won. But we’re better than that, that’s for sure. It doesn’t define us. We know what we are capable of”, concluded Scottie Barnes.
| Pascal Siakam | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 55 | 16 | 50.2 | 14.3 | 68.8 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.2 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 81 | 21 | 50.8 | 22.0 | 62.1 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 7.3 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 80 | 32 | 54.9 | 36.9 | 78.5 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 16.9 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 60 | 35 | 45.3 | 35.9 | 79.2 | 1.1 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 22.9 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 56 | 36 | 45.5 | 29.7 | 82.7 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 21.4 |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 68 | 38 | 49.4 | 34.4 | 74.9 | 1.9 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 22.8 |
| 2022-23 | TOR | 9 | 36 | 47.9 | 34.2 | 72.5 | 1.8 | 7.6 | 9.3 | 7.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 24.8 |
| Total | 409 | 30 | 48.9 | 32.9 | 77.1 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 15.9 | |
