Finding a Rhythm Starts with Taking Better Shots for Siakam

When the Toronto Raptors needed a bucket in last year's playoffs Kawhi Leonard was there to take over. He wouldn't always make the bucket when things bogged down, but he was almost always willing to take it.

That's what the superstar class from the star-status players in the NBA. It's not just that ability to hit game-winners when the season is on the line like Leonard did in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers, it's the willingness to shoot 16-for-39 in a Game 7 when nobody else can seem to put the ball in the hoop.

That's been the problem with Pascal Siakam so far in these playoffs. While he certainly hasn't looked efficient at times, the Raptors haven't been able to turn to him to take, let alone make shots when things slow down.

In Game 5, he took nine shots and only three in the first half when the Raptors really needed their leading scorer to produce offence.

"We didn’t really catch a rhythm throughout the whole first half," Siakam said. "We didn’t really execute as well, but, yeah, we can’t have halves like that."

Siakam has looked fairly out of sync since the NBA returned. He's averaged just 16.9 points per game on 39.4% shooting since the hiatus, taking just 14.9 attempts per game. That's a noticeable drop off from the 23.6 points he was averaging on 45.% shooting on 18.9 attempts per game he had before the pandemic.

In the playoffs, Siakam's numbers have stayed relatively similar to his seeding game averages. He's averaging 18 points with 41% shooting on 16.8 attempts per game.

"I am not sure why he has been so out of rhythm since the re-start in the bubble," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said following Game 5. "He hasn’t had a lot of great games. And I think that is more of it other than where we are in the playoffs and he is supposed to be our leading guy. I’m not sure he’s been in great rhythm since the restart and it’s too bad because he was spectacular in last year’s playoffs and spectacular all season long. We still got some games to play. Hopefully, he can get his rhythm."

In order to get Siakam back to his pre-pandemic self, Toronto needs to feed him the ball attacking the rim more often.

"We gotta give him the ball more, earlier, get him in pick-and-rolls, stuff like that," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. "

"Put him in better spots and try to help him," Fred VanVleet said. "As a point guard, [we've] got to do a better job of putting him in a position to succeed so he's not working so hard for every bucket."

That means moving away from the post-up, which Siakam has gone to 32 times in this series, averaging 6.4 post-up attempts per game, according to NBA Stats. That's a huge jump from the 3.9 post-ups he averaged per game in the regular season.

And when the ball is in his hands, he needs to attack, rather than settle for 3-pointers or try to back down strong Celtic defenders.

He's shown flashes of that attacking scorer in this series, usually in the second half, but the Raptors can't wait much longer for their top scorer to prove he can pick up his teammates when things bog down.