Toronto Raptors: Is Pascal Siakam the third best player in the series?

Is Pascal Siakam the third best player in the Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors series? Paul Pierce seems to think so. With Kevin Durant currently sidelined it may well be the case, let’s take a look.

When Paul Pierce states that Pascal Siakam may be the third best player in the Raptors-Warriors series, you take notice. Pierce is a former NBA champion who has given the Toronto Raptors nightmares in the past and will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame when he is eligible. This makes his opinion noteworthy. With that said, it is amazing that Pascal Siakam is even being discussed in the same conversation with a player like Klay Thompson.

Can we make a case for him being the third best player in the series?

Case for

If this discourse did not begin with an ESPN booth with three former NBA standouts that include two all-stars and former NBA Finals MVP’s, one could posit that an assertion like this sounds too preposterous to even dignify with a discussion. Siakam was indeed one of the top three players on the floor during his tremendous Game 1 performance.

As most Toronto Raptors fans know, Siakam is not only oozing with upside, but he has been playing at an All-Star level for much of the season. Similar to Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antentenkoumpo, Pascal is a natural talent who is still learning to play the game. Siakam started playing basketball at age 16, an age when LeBron James was already a phenom being discussed as a future number one pick.

The American media seems to be giddy after Siakam’s Game1 performance. There seems to be many who did not know he was capable of such an offensive outburst, not to mention at such an elite level of efficiency.

The Warriors lack of rim protection and pace of play lends itself perfectly to his strengths in the open court and in transition. Barring a Kevin Durant return, Siakam could very well prove to be the third best player in this series.

He may even, as was discussed on First Things First with Cris Carter and Nick Wright, end up stealing the NBA Finals MVP from Kawhi Leonard when the Raptors win the title.

If the Golden State Warriors continue to double team Kawhi and leave a third roaming, Pascal Siakam could very likely lead the Raptors in scoring in the NBA Finals. Draymond Green will have better defensive outings against Pascal, but he may be put on Kawhi at times if the Warriors decide to play some man.

Kawhi is the Raptors MVP, but Siakam could definitely outproduce him from a statistical standpoint. Pascal Siakam definitely looked like at least the third best player on the floor during game one. But is he? The win shares metric suggests he might be, Siakam finished the season at 9.3, while Thompson finished at only 5.3.

Case against

Stating that Pascal Siakam is the third best player in the Raptors-Warriors series is sure to spark some heated debate. Perhaps that is what Paul Pierce was going for. Klay Thompson is arguably the best true shooting guard in the league and just made his first All-NBA defensive team. He is a three-time champion, a five-time All-Star, and will likely go down as one of the top shooters of all time when all is said and done.

There are many who would include his name in a discussion of the NBA’s top 10 talents. So why are people mentioning Pascal Siakam in the same breath as him? Klay Thompson is a proven commodity who scored 21.5 points per game this past season and has twice scored 50 points by the end of the third quarter. He holds the NBA record for points in a single quarter with 37. Just think about that for a second.

Klay Thompson is arguably the NBA’s most underappreciated star south of the border. He was always overshadowed by Steph Curry but is often somewhat forgotten until he starts splashing threes now that the Warriors roster a player by the name of Kevin Durant.

Klay would likely vie for scoring titles on a team he was the first option on. He has, however, offered very little outside of shooting as a Warrior, but that could be as much about the scheme as anything else.

Verdict

Despite Klay Thompson’s ability as an elite scorer, there is an argument that Pascal Siakam was not only better in game one, but in the playoffs as a whole. Heading into game two, Siakam is averaging more points, rebounds, and assists than Klay.

Pascal is currently sporting averages of 19.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game on 47-percent shooting. Thompson is at 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on a surprisingly inefficient 43-percent shooting clip.

However, as echoed by Chauncey Billups, Pascal has indeed had great performances this postseason, but may not even be universally viewed as the second best player on his own team. Siakam may well be on his way to being viewed as a more complete player than Thompson, but he is not there just yet. He will shine in this series and has a chance to be the Finals MVP.

However, Thompson, and in some minds, Kyle Lowry and Draymond Green, have all established themselves as superior players. Pascal has become a star in the eyes of Toronto Raptors fans but has yet to sustain the level of consistency normally associated with them.

Siakam may be on the path to superstardom, but stating that a player that never made an All-Star team is a better player than three multiple time All-Star’s may be a little premature. Siakam will get there, but he is not yet the third best player in this series.