Toronto Raptors: Is Pascal Siakam better than Paul George?

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TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 11: Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers is guarded by Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on December 11, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Kendrick Perkins tweeted this week that he was giving the slight edge to Pascal Siakam when having to decide between him and Paul George. Pascal has had the better season with the Toronto Raptors, how do they compare?

Who is the better player right now, Pascal Siakam or Paul George? This comparison seems kind of silly if you asked it last season, but this year it is a fair comparison to make. Pascal Siakam has taken a huge leap for the Toronto Raptors this season, while Paul George has struggled to make an impact with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The comparison originally stems from Kendrick Perkins’ tweet, where he decided to give the slight edge to Pascal Siakam when comparing the two players. The raw stats do favor Pascal Siakam but given Paul George’s history, it is hard to say George isn’t the better player. Let’s get into an analysis of both their seasons looking at offense, defense, and who is the MORE valuable player to their team.

Now let’s begin with reviewing their offensive games.

Like previously mentioned the raw statistics do favor Pascal Siakam.

Pascal Siakam: 23.6 Points/7.5 Rebounds/3.6 Assists/1.0 Steals/0.9 Blocks
Paul George: 21.0 Points/ 5.7 Rebounds/3.9 Assists/1.3 Steals/0.5 Blocks

Siakam is also shooting 45.9 percent from the field to Paul George’s 43.2 percent. Siakam also goes to the free-throw line more often despite shooting slightly worse than George from there (80% to 88.2%). The biggest difference is their three-point shooting, where George is a much better shooter in general, shooting the three at 39.9 percent compared to Siakam’s 35.9 percent.

If you had to pick a player here by just looking at the raw stats alone, the pick has to be Pascal Siakam. He produces more and is more efficient from the field while shooting on a higher volume.

However, that does not actually mean Siakam is more efficient (bear with me here). Paul George does produce more points per shot. Per 100 shot attempts, Paul George produces 117.4 points per 100 shot attempts while Pascal Siakam produces 112.3 points, per Cleaning the Glass.

So Paul George is really the more “efficient” player, with an effective goal percentage of 53% to Siakam’s 51.9%. This is obviously attributed to shot selection more than anything, with George having 46 percent of shots coming behind the arc, while Siakam is at 29 percent. Siakam prefers shooting it at the rim and in the mid-range, where 71 percent of his shots come from.

Siakam is a better finisher around the rim than George is, scoring 65 percent from that area compared to George’s 61 percent (PG only shoots 20 percent of his shots at the rim anyway). But that is the only area Siakam outshines George on offense. George is just better from just about any other area, including the free-throw line as previously mentioned.

So despite Siakam being the player who scores more, George does have the better offensive arsenal, and therefore he does get the edge on offense.

So the score is 1-0 to George.

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