Raptors' Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam will be disappointed by NBA All-Star voting
By Mike Luciano
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The Toronto Raptors are not in a position to send multiple players to the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis due to both their poor record and the team's inability to consistently score on the offensive end. their hopes lie exclusively on Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam in the frontcourt.
Between Siakam nearly replicating the performance that was good enough to get him to the All-Star Game last year and Barnes becoming such a dynamic playmaker that a Most Improved Player award shouldn't necessarily be ruled out, saying that either of them could make an All-Star team is by no means a statement tainted by Raptors fandom.
While the Raptors have a very passionate fanbase that will try everything possible to get their guys into the All-Star festivities, their poor record and relative inability stand out when compared to some other big market teams.
This has led to neither Barnes nor Siakam making the Top 10 in All-Star fan voting after the first returns were released. With how much of a lead some of the favorites have, it seems very unlikely that either of them could make up the difference in such a short amount of time.
The first returns from NBA All-Star voting have been released:
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 4, 2024
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Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes facing long odds in All-Star voting.
Siakam is averaging 22.4 points on 52% shooting, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game in his first season under Darko Rajakovic. Barnes, meanwhile, is averaging 21.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game while also chipping in more than both a steal and block per contest. In most years, both of those lines are All-Star worthy.
Both of them will need to overcome some tremendous players to keep rising up the rankings. While names like Kyle Kuzma and Mikal Bridges ranking above them can be questioned, the fact that names like Paolo Banchero and Kristaps Porzingis are barely in the top ten means both of them will need to play perfectly to climb the rankings.
Fan voting accounts for 50% of the final tally when picking starters, with the remaining half split equally between players and the media. Toronto's dynamic duo also needs to win over an incredulous collection of media voters and their contemporaries on the court.
That hurricane of factors working against both Barnes and Siakam means it is unlikely that either of them makes it to the All-Star game barring some unprecedented injury runs that open up spots. Then again, fans can put them in a better spot by voting like crazy.
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