The Toronto Raptors’ success in the next few seasons will be tied inexorably to the play of power forward Pascal Siakam, who took a bit of a step back in 2020-21 after such a dominant All-Star campaign the season prior.
Siakam might’ve scored 21.7 points per game and set a new career-high in assists per game, but his scoring and 3-point percentages declined, as he couldn’t escape both the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the struggles of playing in Tampa.
In what was supposed to be a crucial offseason that was supposed to help this team return to their winning ways, Toronto was dealt the worst possible news, as their star forward will be on the mend for a while.
Shams Charania is reporting that Siakam underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He is expected to be out five months, which would force him to miss the first few weeks of an NBA season that is scheduled to get back to a normal start time in the middle of October.
The Raptors claim he suffered the injury in a May 8 game against the Grizzlies.
Pascal Siakam injury update. pic.twitter.com/GX8LrbnDqt
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 11, 2021
The Toronto Raptors will be without Pascal Siakam for a while.
In a division that saw every non-Raptors team make the postseason, Siakam missing time could lead to Toronto digging a hole so deep they are unable to come out of it.
Getting down to brass tacks, the most likely replacement for Siakam in the starting lineup is Chris Boucher, which is by no means a disaster for the Raptors due to his skill as a scorer and shooter. However, even though Siakam is a bit wiry, Boucher’s think frame could come back to bite a Raptors team that was already looking for rebounding help.
We might see more of OG Anunoby at the power forward spot due to the fact he has experience in that role from last year. While he didn’t play as well at the 4 spot as he did at center, Freddie Gillespie may also be counted on to eat up some minutes.
Make no mistake, this is horrendous news for the Raptors, who just saw their quest to return to the postseason get even harder. Nick Nurse and the front office just need to hold down the fort, scrape out as many wins as possible without him, and hope No. 43 is as lethal on offense as he usually is when he makes his return.