Raptors hater Bill Simmons has insane Pascal Siakam All-NBA take

Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam may not have made it to the All-Star team this season, but he’s making it even more difficult to leave him off of any All-NBA ballot. Siakam has been the primary offensive force for a Raptors team that currently owns the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Cameroonian star is averaging 27.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game in his last 10 contests. Even during his Most Improved and All-Star seasons before this year, Siakam didn’t come close to this level of statistical dominance.

On top of the fact that Siakam has to compete with a historically deep group of forwards and big men in the Eastern Conference, Siakam has to compete with talking heads like Bill Simmons diminishing his accomplishments while propping up the achievements of a lesser player.

Simmons agreed with Ryen Rusillo’s take that there is a massive drop-off in talent at the forward position this year. Not only did Simmons say that you’re “left with Siakam” once you get past the top-flight guys, but he argued that Chicago Bulls wing Zach LaVine was more deserving of an All-NBA spot.

Bill Simmons isn’t a fan of Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam.

Why was Simmons partial to LaVine over Siakam? Because he did a podcast a year ago where Siakam was ranked as one of the worst contracts in the league. Is it even worth dignifying that with a response? Absolutely! It doesn’t have any statistical evidence to support it other than points per game!

Siakam outpaces LaVine in both rebounds and assists while being a much better on-ball defender. With Toronto now ahead of Chicago in the standings, any argument that claims LaVine contributes more to winning basketball also doesn’t pass the smell test. What do the Raptors have to do to get some respect?

Anyone who does not have Siakam on their All-NBA ballot needs to provide a coherent explanation of how the primary offensive force on the No. 5 seed in the East and a player who has been averaging over 26 points per game on 52% shooting since March 4 is not worthy of inclusion on this team.

Between Siakam and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors have found it difficult to get individual praise from the mainstream basketball media despite smashing all of the low expectations set for this team in the preseason. The best thing they can do is humiliate those analysts by balling in the postseason.