Toronto Raptors: Is Pascal Siakam better than Paul George?

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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 28: Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors shoots against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at Scotiabank Arena on January 28, 2020 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) /

Now that we covered offense and defense, who is the more valuable player to their team. This looks like a no brainer since Leonard is George’s teammate, but let’s look at how each team performs with and without Siakam and George.

When Pascal is in the lineup, the Toronto Raptors score a total of 113.4 points per 100 possessions with a 55.3 percent effective field goal rate and holds opposing teams to 105.3 points per 100 possessions. When Siakam is not in the lineup however, the team struggles on offense with 107.7 points per 100 possessions with an effective field goal rate of ONLY 50.8 percent…The plus/minus difference for the Toronto Raptors is 1.6 with Siakam not in the lineup compared to 8.1 when he is in the lineup. The Toronto Raptors aren’t where they are in the standings without Siakam.

Now when we look at George it isn’t the same case. The Clippers can still be at an elite level with or without Paul George. The points per 100 possessions for and against are the same with George in or out of the lineup. It is clear Siakam is a more important player this season, and Siakam has done a better job of being the number one guy than George is as the number two guy.

Just in case you want the stats for George without Leonard, they are still a worse team when George leads the way. They score one less point and allow four more per 100 possessions, Per Cleaning The Glass.

Siakam wins this category and is the more valuable player to his team. Siakam wins the tiebreaker 2-1.

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