Pascal Siakam is cool. He dressed up as Usain Bolt for Halloween. He wore a Will Smith/Bel Air Academy jersey to the Toronto Raptors’ game in Los Angeles on Sunday. People call him Spicy P (OK, maybe that last one’s kind of corny.)
Siakam also happens to be, well, really damn good at basketball. Last season, he was a key cog for Toronto’s five-man bench unit, which finished as the team’s second-best high-usage lineup with a net rating of 19.2.
As impressive as Siakam was last season, meshing well with his teammates and providing energy that no other Raptor possessed, his individual numbers still didn’t show much. Siakam averaged 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting 50.8 percent from the field (54.9 true-shooting percentage). Even on a per-36-minute basis, Siakam’s numbers didn’t pop out. He showed improved passing, dribble-driving and finishing skills, but mostly in flashes.
But now, in Siakam’s third NBA season, things are different. Siakam has improved his handle and finishing skills exponentially. It seems Siakam’s playmaking skills would make him a better fit with Toronto’s bench unit, which has struggled so far this season. However, Siakam was simply too good to start the season; the Raptors’ coach, Nick Nurse, had no choice but to start him at the four.
In nearly 27 minutes per game this season – a six-minute increase from last year – Siakam is averaging 11.3 points and 7.4 rebounds nightly. Even on a per-minute basis, that is a significant improvement. It might be more notable, however, that he’s doing it while shooting 60.2 percent from the field (62.4 percent true shooting).
It’s clear that Siakam has gotten better, but where’s his improvement happening the most? Well, per Basketball-Reference, Siakam hasn’t actually improved his shooting significantly – or at all – from outside the paint. Despite Raptors fans salivating at the thought of Siakam becoming a consistent catch-and-shoot threat, or even developing a reliable midrange jumper, that’s not at all how Siakam’s game has transformed this year. He’s shooting just over 21 percent from beyond the arc, and he hasn’t been much better anywhere else further than three feet from the rim.
But, as is often the case in life, being elite in one area is enough to make up for deficiencies in others. After shooting under 46 percent at the rim (between zero and three feet) last season, Siakam is making nearly 58 percent of his shots there this year. Interestingly enough, he’s only been assisted on about 49 percent of his 2-point field goals through 10 games, a massive drop from last season, when Siakam received assists on nearly 69 percent of those shots.
So, what do all these numbers mean? For one thing, Siakam’s ability to finish at the rim has improved tremendously. His touch has gotten better; he can now finish with either hand in traffic, around long defenders:
Siakam has also unleashed a wicked spin move that frees him up for easy buckets:
The second major improvement that Siakam has made, as you may have noticed in the clips above, is his handle.
Siakam was already great at cutting to the right spots and catching and finishing at the rim – both in transition and in half-court sets. He’s continued that this season:
But now, he’s become much more adept at catching the ball on the perimeter and attacking his defender in half-court sets. He’s frequently been able to get to the rim and score (emphatically!) or draw a foul:
He’s also been taking the ball coast to coast after getting a rebound or steal:
Siakam, while still a great cutter, no longer needs to rely on Toronto’s guards to find him all the time. He’s become autonomous, barrelling into the paint with ferocity and rising above all but the bravest rim challengers.
Pascal Siakam is in the fast lane and quickly gaining speed. Where he’s going – we’ll just have to wait and see.
All stats up to date before games played on Nov. 5.
