Raptors All-Star snub Pascal Siakam more deserving than these 3 players

1. DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls

It hurts to do this to DeMar, but it’s hard to justify his selection and Pascal’s exclusion. Either both of these players needed to make the All-Star team, or neither of them should have. Having DeRozan in without Pascal just seems odd this season.

If the coaches are holding Toronto’s poor regular season record against Siakam, fair enough. It’s illogical, but at least the reasoning is consistent. Putting DeRozan in despite the fact that the Bulls are as inept as the Raptors seems a bit odd. Pascal will not have to suffer for this lapse in judgment.

Pascal Siakam was as much an All-Star as DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan is having a fine season, averaging 26.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Still, the fact that Siakam is both a much better defender at this stage of his career while winning the rebound and assist battle is a further testament to how Siakam was snubbed.

The Raptors are lying in a bed they made this season. Due to the lack of a bench around him and Nick Nurse’s insistence on playing him close to 40 minutes every night forcing him into a fatigue-induced slump at the worst possible time, players like DeRozan leapfrogged him.