Could Raptors’ Pascal Siakam make All-Star game after injury news?

The Toronto Raptors had their brief moment in the sun last year, but their poor record this year has quickly thrown them back into the dregs of NBA anonymity. The poor performance from the collective team has gotten so bad that Siakam wasn’t even selected to the All-Star game.

Missing the All-Star festivities while averaging a few ticks under 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game is almost unprecedented. Watching players like Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan waltz into Salt Lake City with inferior or identical stats has to sting.

Just when it looked like all hope was lost, some poor injury luck surrounding the Brooklyn Nets might be able to bail out Siakam. Chris Haynes was one of many who reported that Durant will not participate in the All-Star festivities due to a nagging MCL sprain.

Siakam has numbers that would make even the most jaded NBA fan blush, which could set the stage for a surprise nomination that lands him in Salt Lake City. Nick Nurse’s bad coaching decisions may not be enough to totally ruin Siakam’s fantastic season.

Will Toronto Raptors PF Pascal Siakam make All-Star Game?

The Raptors had an All-Star every year since 2013, with the Tampa bubble season as the lone exclusion. While the team’s record is poor, putting that on Siakam instead of the chaos that has gone on around him is not a very effective way to judge his true performance.

If the All-Star game is supposed to be based purely on merit, Siakam would have had a spot irrespective of the team’s record. Considering that he is exceeding the numbers he amassed last year, when he was named an All-NBA performer, the league’s hesitancy to give him his flowers is strange.

Siakam has been named an All-Star just once in his career, and it came in what is now his third-best individual season. While being less than flamboyant and playing in Toronto will certainly penalize you in these competitions, the fact that it took some rotten luck from Durant to get him his flowers is a shame.

If Pascal Siakam gets passed over again as the injury replacement for Durant, Raptors fans will have even firmer grounds for complaint. Toronto knows that Siakam is one of the game’s most unique talents, and it would be best for all parties if the NBA carved out a spot for him in the ASG festivities.