Nothing has gone right for the Toronto Raptors this season, but fans were still finding some speckles of hope awaiting the potential All-Star nomination of All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam. Unfortunately, the miasma of negativity that has corrupted this 2022-23 season even managed to spoil this great moment.
Siakam was not named to the All-Star team for what would have been the second time in his career. Considering the fact that he is averaging 24.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, one has to wonder what else he should have done to make himself a more desirable candidate.
As with every All-Star nominee list, fans across the league are going to complain that their favorite player was snubbed by a cast of characters who don’t understand their genius. Without sounding like I’m just overflowing with righteous indignation, Siakam may be the most egregious snub in either conference.
Siakam’s stats, performance beyond the raw box scores, and skill despite a lack of talent around him should have helped him earn a nomination to Salt Lake City. Siakam has had a better individual season in 2022-23 than each of these three All-Star nominees.
Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam deserved an All-Star nomination.
3. Julius Randle, New York Knicks
Siakam and Randle are often pitted against one another, as they are similarly talented players within the same division. Randle will now have the edge in All-Star game appearances despite the fact Siakam has multiple All-NBA nods in his Raptors career.
Randle’s box score stats are not that dissimilar to Siakam, as he is averaging 24.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game for a Knicks team that will likely make the postseason. Even though Siakam has better passing, efficiency, and defense with fewer turnovers despite his minutes workload, Randle got the nod.
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam is more complete than Julius Randle.
The fact that Jalen Brunson has been a much better player than any of the Raptors’ second options should be another plus for Siakam. He’s doing more, or at least the same, with less, but the coaches haven’t considered or internalized that point.
If the point of the All-Star Game is purely meritocratic in an attempt to get the best possible players in the game, the fact that Randle is in and Siakam is not flies in the face of that directive. The only way Siakam can get to Utah is if he’s named as an injury replacement.
2. Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
While Holiday is a guard that may not compete directly with Siakam for All-Star nods, it stings to see a player with Siakam’s per-game averages left off the team. Holiday was the beneficiary of playing on a winning team, while Siakam is apparently getting dinged because of Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster’s lackluster offseason.
Holiday is averaging 19.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game as the second (and often third) option alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Siakam’s omission is the result of the Bucks contending for a championship and the Raptors eyeing a rebuild.
Toronto Raptors PF Pascal Siakam is outscoring Jrue Holiday.
Holiday, like Siakam, has value that goes way beyond the box score for a very talented Milwaukee team. He has a legitimate First-Team All-Defense case. There are two problems with leaning on this fact to justify his candidacy, however.
First, Siakam is a tremendous defender in his own right. Second, the idea of defense mattering in the famously defense-light All-Star game is applied very inconsistently. Players like Holiday have it factor into their decision, while it is often disregarded in cases of players like elite players on iffy teams like Siakam.
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.