3 Raptors who must step up with Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. out

2. Precious Achiuwa

Update: Precious Achiuwa has been placed in the league’s Health and Safety protocols.

So much for easing Achiuwa back into the fold. After a quarantine and shoulder injury 1-2 punch, Achiuwa was able to put up a solid 17 points against a Warriors team that looked more at home in Santa Cruz than the NBA. Achiuwa has some tough matchups against players like Nikola Vucevic and Joel Embiid coming down the pipeline.

Achiuwa has been much better of late, as he has averaged 10.3 points per game on 47% shooting and 7.5 boards per contest over the last 30 days. With Siakam’s offensive skills potentially missing from this team for the next week, Achiuwa must be a positive force on the offense.

Precious Achiuwa must replace Pascal Siakam for the Toronto Raptors.

Achiuwa has started to improve his jump shot, as he is making over 40% of his 3-pointers (albeit on just under two attempts per game) in that time frame. The next few games could be a very good test of his ability to contribute consistently on that end.

Achiuwa came under fire early in the season due to his propensity for missing shots close to the rim and turning the ball over. While he has made some strides in this area and appears to be more comfortable, he’ll need to prove he can do that without Siakam on the floor.