To say that the reputation of Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam as a franchise player has eroded in the minds of some might be an understatement. Some impatient fans and larger NBA media as a whole went from “Pascal is the future of this franchise!” to “Pascal has only 2 moves! Trade him while he still has some value!” It makes no sense!
Flashback a year and a half ago to the 2019-2020 season. The Raptors were fighting for the best record in the league with Siakam finishing as a Top 10 MVP candidate. We all know how Siakam’s career trajectory took a downwards turn since the COVID-19 induced suspension.
On one hand, some believe that he has plateaued and there is nothing more to see from the 27-year-old Cameroonian. On the flip side, call it faith or delusion, but I truly believe that Siakam will come back better than ever.
Now in his prime at 27 years old Siakam has a history of overachieving. Considering his meteoric rise from an unknown draft prospect to becoming one of the better two-way forwards in the league, Siakam still has the talent and motor to take his game to the next level.
3 bold predictions for Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam this season
1. Bounce back from 3-point territory
The Raptors organization and fans are hoping for Siakam to regain his confidence as he comes off shoulder surgery in June for a torn labrum. Jumpstarting his career back to potential MVP form begins by fixing his confidence to take and make more threes.
His career-best shooting percentage from 3-point land came back in 2018-2019, where he finished at 36.9%. The 2019-2020 season saw Siakam attempt a career-high 365 attempts from 3 point land while making 165 of them, good for a 35.9% from deep.
His self-confidence, along with his shot, took a swan dive once he got back on the court in the bubble. Spicy P fizzled out as he made 1.4 Threes a game, good for just 26% of his attempts. Those shooting woes continued into the 2020-21 season, where he attempted and made fewer threes (73 of 246) than the prior season.
Pascal Siakam must improve from 3-point land for the Toronto Raptors.
Comparing his 2019-20 season to 2020-21, you can see that he struggled to drain pull-up 3s last year (making only 23.7% vs. 34% the year prior). When taking open threes (defenders 4-6 ft away), he only made 20% of his shots last season vs. 36.5% the season prior.
It’s not that he was taking bad shots or ones that he hasn’t made before- it looks more like a case of Siakam overthinking and getting in his own way.
Even the best shooters go through slumps. Whether you believe it was post-COVID complications, confidence issues, or opposing teams just figuring his game out, Siakam will have yet another opportunity to hush the critics.
Siakam will regain his stride and drain at least 35% or more from beyond the arc this year.