OG Anunoby Discusses Taking on Former Raptors Teammate Pascal Siakam

Former Toronto Raptors teammates OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam will face off in the second round on the NBA playoffs on Monday night

Dec 21, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) celebrates with OG Anunoby / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

This will be a first for OG Anunoby.

For so long, he and Pascal Siakam played together. They shared the court as members of the Toronto Raptors and even during practice they were typically on the same squad. There were few opportunities to actually go up against each other.

But that’ll change now.

Anunoby and the New York Knicks are getting set to take on Siakam’s Indiana Pacers on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“It’ll be weird, but it’ll be cool,” Anunoby told reporters in New York. “He’s looking forward to it for sure.”

Anunoby said he does have a few defensive tricks he’s learned from watching Siakam play for so long, but he knows he’ll have his hands full as the expected primary defender on Siakam.

“He plays both ends. He can score. He can rebound. He can pass. He can do everything. So he helps them a lot,” Anunoby said of Siakam who the Pacers acquired back in January.

Siakam and the Pacers did play the Knicks twice following the trade from Toronto, but Anunoby was sidelined for both games making this meeting the first time the two have officially played against each other.

“I know some stuff, but he’s a great player. I think everyone knows that,” Anunoby said.

But the second round will be a whole lot more difficult for Siakam who had his way with Bobby Portis and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. Anunoby remains one of the best wing defenders in the NBA and just held his own against Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in the first round.

Expect Anunoby to see his fair share of Siakam in Round 1 as well. Siakam primarily defended fellow former Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa when Indiana took on the Knicks earlier this year, but Anunoby’s return has forced Achiuwa into a back-of-the-bench role lately.