The Toronto Raptors are staring down the barrel of a postseason at home, but the play of Pascal Siakam has not been one of the reasons why, despite what haters fishing for engagement will say. Sure, Siakam, has had his struggles against the likes of Julius Randle, but he has overcome his slow start and proved he is one of the best power forwards in the game.
Siakam and the Raptors might’ve fallen to Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook, and the Washington Wizards in a game that has all but eliminated them from the postseason picture, but that shouldn’t erase the fact that Siakam capped off one of the best stretches of basketball in his career with an absolute masterpiece.
The Cameroonian forward set a new career-high with 44 points, all while helped beat up on an exposed Washington frontcourt and keeping the ball moving on offense. This game elevated Siakam to a club that only two future Hall of Famers have reached.
Siakam not only set a new career-high in points, but he has joined Vince Carter and Kawhi Leonard as the only players in club history to record a game with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. If you, as a Raptor, find your name mentioned next to those two, you’re doing something right.
Pascal Siakam has a career-high 44 points with 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and I'd still advise him not to check his mentions tonight.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 7, 2021
Pascal Siakam has been on fire for the Toronto Raptors.
The last three games have been some of the best basketball of Siakam’s career. Siakam is averaging an insane 35.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Included in that stretch was a win over the Los Angeles Lakers and a very tough, but close, loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Siakam must indeed work on his skills in the clutch, as he turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter, but that shouldn’t negate all the good work he did before that. OG Anunoby and Kyle Lowry were both out, yet he took on two of the top 25 players in the game almost singlehandedly and nearly pulled it off.
With Lowry likely leaving for a contender in the offseason, Siakam will be in line for even more of an offensive workload in the next few years. Games like last night prove that this offense is in good hands.
How you view Siakam’s season is a good litmus test for how pessimistic you are, in a general sense, about him as a player. If you’re negative, you’ll point to his failures in the clutch. If you’re more positive, you’ll see that No. 43 brings a ton of unique traits to the table, which should be a clue that tells Nick Nurse he should lean on him more often.