Raptors: 3 bold predictions for Pascal Siakam in the 2021-22 season

3. Game Winners/Go-ahead shots

In his interview with Sopan Deb of The New York Times, Pascal Siakam spoke candidly about his role on the team after he was given his max contract extension.

"I just felt like there wasn’t that much level of communication…It was like, we got you the max contract, but are you the guy? I think that’s something that I was struggling with….I had the contract, but I never really felt like I was the guy, to be honest…"

Regardless of how Siakam felt about it, when it came to clutch situations, Coach Nurse actually showed a lot of trusts and gave him every opportunity to be the man last season.

As fate would have it, on multiple occasions he got to his spots but the Basketball Gods were not kind as his shots fell short or met with gut-wrenching in-and-outs at the rim.

Even if you are skeptical about his ability to be the go-to guy, you still have to admit that Siakam is a versatile player who can score well and whose long wingspan and quick closeouts allow him to defend opposing teams and cause matchup problems.

Combine that with his ability to move the ball in transition alongside Raptors vets VanVleet and Anunoby, and the addition of the new kids on the block like Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa and company, and we might have a resurgence of the deadly fast break on the move again.

Pascal Siakam will fix his issues in the clutch.

He averaged a career-high 4.5 assists per game last season, and the team will need more of his ability to get his teammates involved early and often.

With Siakam slated to miss some time to start the season, the Raptors will defer to the other potential closers on this team down the stretch. Once he’s back on the floor- he will once again be put in a position to execute in the final minutes of games.

With Lowry’s departure this off-season, the keys to the franchise are officially in Siakam’s hands and no doubt his usage will be high this year. Can he be The Man or will he take a backseat to OG Anunoby who is also poised for a breakout season?

That remains to be seen, but what we do know is that he can get back to being an efficient, key contributor for a team that has aspirations to get back to the mountain top.

Siakam will drain at least 3 game winners/go-ahead jumpers this season.