Toronto Raptors: Stock Take, plus Pascal Siakam hits his stride

Pascal Siakam

After a minor setback, Pascal Siakam is looking pretty darn good once again. He looked a little burned out last week as the Raptors dropped three of four games against quality opponents. A passive Pascal Siakam is not a player that can lead the Raptors to the lofty heights of title-contention. He needs to be aggressive in attacking the rim and then work his way back. Do what brought you to the big dance.

The jump shot is coming along nicely, but it’s not something that Siakam can settle with just yet. That time is coming, but it’s a little further on the horizon. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a valuable weapon right now – because it most certainly is. He proved that this week.

Siakam knocked down 58-percent of his threes while taking an even eight per game! It’s absurd that he’s become this good of a volume shooter this fast. Just one season ago, he was restricted to mainly open corner threes. Now, he’s knocking down above-the-break threes off the dribble on a nightly basis.

Against the Detroit Pistons, Siakam took a career-high 11 three-pointers and made six. SIX!! And yes, that is also a career-high. That performance marked a big moment in his career. Teams must really start treating Siakam as a credible threat from above the break, which means guarding him tighter.

You should know what that means. Suddenly, Siakam has a little bit more space to attack into. He can beat guys using speed and strength, and having extra room to work in the paint means more guaranteed buckets. Cheque please, we got it.

Is a stat line of 29.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals over the past three games good? It is?

Cool. Siakam is a superstar.

VERDICT: STOCK UP

This week was definitely an improvement from its predecessor, and if its successor can improve upon that, then maybe the Toronto Raptors will be okay after all (Spoiler: of course they will.) Enjoy the holidays, one and all.