Pascal Siakam Will Be A Top 5 Player This Season

[NinjaBro]

My predictions: Siakim makes all-NBA 2nd defensive team and is top 12 in scoring and shoots 56/40/80 with game averages of 24/8/4

not sure if that is top 5 but there aren't many guys who will be as effective at both ends

Interesting after he averaged 19/7/3 on 47/29/75 shooting in the 24 playoff games

Well he's talking about the regular season. In the regular season he doesn't have to face guys like Embiid every other night for 7 straight games. Usually he'll get a team like the Mavs and get a switch on someone like Doncic and will make quick work on the little guy for an easy peezy bucket.

[GQ Hot Dog]

exactly that list is all over the place. I couldn't put together a list of more than 15 guys I'd rather have going in to just next season, never mind moving forward. Seriously name 20 better players in the NBA right now, you can't.

Giannis, Kawhi, KD, Lebron, Curry, Harden, Jokic, Embiid, KAT, AD, Lillard, Beal, Gobert, Butler, PG, Doncic, Kemba, Oladipo, Kyrie, Westbrook, Griffin, Holiday...and I could go on.

I'd rather have Pascal over half those guys going into next season.

I listed 22 players, so which 11 would you take Siakam over?

[Swish1906]

My predictions: Siakim makes all-NBA 2nd defensive team and is top 12 in scoring and shoots 56/40/80 with game averages of 24/8/4

not sure if that is top 5 but there aren't many guys who will be as effective at both ends

Interesting after he averaged 19/7/3 on 47/29/75 shooting in the 24 playoff games

Well he's talking about the regular season. In the regular season he doesn't have to face guys like Embiid every other night for 7 straight games. Usually he'll get a team like the Mavs and get a switch on someone like Doncic and will make quick work on the little guy for an easy peezy bucket.

You dont need to answer, i think no one here really cares about your "arguments"...i think everyone just want to know where you buy your awesome weed.

[likemycurryhot]

Really nice player but just, no. No.

[jimmy keys]

Giannis, Kawhi, KD, Lebron, Curry, Harden, Jokic, Embiid, KAT, AD, Lillard, Beal, Gobert, Butler, PG, Doncic, Kemba, Oladipo, Kyrie, Westbrook, Griffin, Holiday...and I could go on.

I'd rather have Pascal over half those guys going into next season.

I listed 22 players, so which 11 would you take Siakam over?

I wouldn't trade Siakam for any of the following players straight up - Kemba, Kyrie, Westbrook, Griffin, Holiday, Beal, Butler.

I think he'll better than KAT & Doncic next season, but admittedly they have greater potential.

+ KD & Oladipo due to injuries to round out your requested 11 players for next season.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

He should easily hit top 15 with the east the way it is. He was 15-20 by the end of last year. He's not taking a step back, sorry.

I'm not saying top 5, but if he takes the same step forward as he did last year...it's not that far off. We would be talking about him as much as Kawhi was talked about in the MVP conversation last year during the regular season.

He only got better when Kawhi was injured/sitting. He's already lit up the best the east has to offer(without Kawhi).

[ThatClockWork]

He should easily hit top 15 with the east the way it is. He was 15-20 by the end of last year. He's not taking a step back, sorry.

I'm not saying top 5, but if he takes the same step forward as he did last year...it's not that far off. We would be talking about him as much as Kawhi was talked about in the MVP conversation last year during the regular season.

He only got better when Kawhi was injured/sitting. He's already lit up the best the east has to offer(without Kawhi).

Honestly top 16 is viable for him (i.e. all star status) and most won't acknowledge that. Its cool though, Raps will have to prove the American media/fans wrong again through their play.

[GQ Hot Dog]

I'd rather have Pascal over half those guys going into next season.

I listed 22 players, so which 11 would you take Siakam over?

I wouldn't trade Siakam for any of the following players straight up - Kemba, Kyrie, Westbrook, Griffin, Holiday, Beal, Butler.

I think he'll better than KAT & Doncic next season, but admittedly they have greater potential.

+ KD & Oladipo due to injuries to round out your requested 11 players for next season.

I dislike comparing players that have much different roles but if you're looking for a primary scoring option Siakam is not better than any of the players you listed as behind Siakam other than maybe Holiday. If you're looking for a secondary scorer that balances with good defense than Siakam is the choice but that sort of player isn't a top-20 player. I think you made your choices and rationalizations only because you're a Raptors fan.

[ZemGOAT]

I wouldn't mind it

[The_Hater]

He should easily hit top 15 with the east the way it is. He was 15-20 by the end of last year. He's not taking a step back, sorry.

I'm not saying top 5, but if he takes the same step forward as he did last year...it's not that far off. We would be talking about him as much as Kawhi was talked about in the MVP conversation last year during the regular season.

He only got better when Kawhi was injured/sitting. He's already lit up the best the east has to offer(without Kawhi).

Honestly top 16 is viable for him (i.e. all star status) and most won't acknowledge that. Its cool though, Raps will have to prove the American media/fans wrong again through their play.

I think a huge majority of people on this board expect him to be an allstar this season, but this thread is about being a top 5 player, not just an allstar. That’s the part that people aren’t acknowledging.

Throwing shade on the American media is simply a misguided cop out that far too many Canadians use. This team isn’t going to contend without Kawhi, that’s just reality, not media bias.

[KrazyP]

Not according to SI

exactly that list is all over the place. I couldn't put together a list of more than 15 guys I'd rather have going in to just next season, never mind moving forward. Seriously name 20 better players in the NBA right now, you can't.

Giannis, Kawhi, KD, Lebron, Curry, Harden, Jokic, Embiid, KAT, AD, Lillard, Beal, Gobert, Butler, PG, Doncic, Kemba, Oladipo, Kyrie, Westbrook, Griffin, Holiday...and I could go on.

If Siakam takes another step this year, he could certainly be listed as part of that group. If you consider defense, Siakam was pretty much just as impactful as a guy like Brad Beal last year.

Look at his impact stats:

VORP - 3.5 ----> #21 overall
WS/48 - .175 ----> #20 overall
RPM - 3.60 . ---> . #24 overall

If he improves upon these numbers, he could be top 15 overall. The original poster is clearly just making a outlandish hyperbole statement with his top 5 projection.....top 15 is the goal and its certainly achievable considering Siakam's current career trajectory.

Paul George is top 3 in both MVP and DPoY awards last year. He might not be top 5 in overall talent, but he is top 5 last season. Siakam is nowhere near top 20. Not saying he couldn’t be, but definitely not now.

Siakam is already around top 20 based on last season alone.

[Patsfan1081]

Every year we get one player that gets overhyped based off just one season, I guess it's Pascals's turn. Not saying he won't improve this season, but the same people that slammed Mitchell, Tatum, etc.. for having a good rookie season are the same praising Siakam for a breakout season. Truth be told while putting up big numbers in the playoffs let's not ignore the fact he played almost more minutes than anyone and his efficiency dipped a pretty decent amount with the improved usg. It's hard to predict how he'll look being a top option everynight without one of the three best players in the game alongside him.

[Swish1906]

He should easily hit top 15 with the east the way it is. He was 15-20 by the end of last year. He's not taking a step back, sorry.

I'm not saying top 5, but if he takes the same step forward as he did last year...it's not that far off. We would be talking about him as much as Kawhi was talked about in the MVP conversation last year during the regular season.

He only got better when Kawhi was injured/sitting. He's already lit up the best the east has to offer(without Kawhi).

Games where he scored more than 25 points:
26p against Warriors (with Kawhi but no Curry, Draymond). Durant going for 51.
26p against Sixers (no kawhi) and a 25p loss
28p against Jazz (with Kawhi scoring 45) and a 6p win
30p against Bucks (with Kawhi scoring 30) and a 6p win. Giannis going for 43/18.
28p against Bucks (with Kawhi). 13p loss
33p against Hawks (no Kawhi). 18p win. T. Prince going for 19p
44p against Wiz (no Kawhi). 9p win. Green with 23, Parker with 22p
33p against Thunder (with Kawhi). 9p win
31p against Knicks (no Kawhi) 25p win

and then 4 more 26+ games in the playoffs.

Really interesting interpretation of "lit up". 102 games with just 13 games where he scored more than 26 points (lightning up is for me anyway more 30+) and most of them were with Kawhi. And in other games he got lit up (Durant, Giannis and also several average player scoring strong).

The four "no Kawhi" games were he "lit up" scoringwise were against Hawks, Knicks, Wiz, Sixers. So 3x the trash of the east and not the best in the east.

The Siakam hype train is a really funny one

[Patsfan1081]

He should easily hit top 15 with the east the way it is. He was 15-20 by the end of last year. He's not taking a step back, sorry.

I'm not saying top 5, but if he takes the same step forward as he did last year...it's not that far off. We would be talking about him as much as Kawhi was talked about in the MVP conversation last year during the regular season.

He only got better when Kawhi was injured/sitting. He's already lit up the best the east has to offer(without Kawhi).

Not sure how you can proclaim any player that doesn't have more than one season of impressive play will only trend up. We haven't seen him as a top option yet. Do you also have the numbers that support your claims? His defensive stats were much better with Leonard and his efg% was plus .06 when they shared the court.

[MotownMadness]

Yeah i want to see how he looks with the ball in his hands as a main option that defenses are game planning against first.

He plays his role great and it gives him a big impact in the advanced stats but hes on too low of usage right now to put him top 20 for me but hes right around there.

[xBulletproof]

I think this is greatly underestimating the difficulty in the jump from very good to superstar. Paul George flattened out for years before breaking through this year.

Defenses start to play you different. Especially in Siakam case, he won't be drawing the 2nd or 3rd best defender anymore. It'll be the best. Then when the defenses start keying and doubling, it's a different game again. I've seen Granger, Paul George and Oladipo all struggle with it for at least one season. Siakam hasn't had that first yet. He's still a couple years away I would guess.

**edit** Also referring to the video, workout/pickup games mean nothing. I've played with NBA players and I've seen guys who can't shoot in NBA games gun away killing it. Seen centers 260+ lbs doing spin moves and crossovers. When not going against an NBA defense, all NBA players look great.

[TheNG]

I think this is greatly underestimating the difficulty in the jump from very good to superstar. Paul George flattened out for years before breaking through this year.

Defenses start to play you different. Especially in Siakam case, he won't be drawing the 2nd or 3rd best defender anymore. It'll be the best. Then when the defenses start keying and doubling, it's a different game again. I've seen Granger, Paul George and Oladipo all struggle with it for at least one season. Siakam hasn't had that first yet. He's still a couple years away I would guess.

**edit** Also referring to the video, workout/pickup games mean nothing. I've played with NBA players and I've seen guys who can't shoot in NBA games gun away killing it. Seen centers 260+ lbs doing spin moves and crossovers. When not going against an NBA defense, all NBA players look great.

Wow. Which NBA players did you play with?

[Yogatti]

Next summer Raptors fans will start claiming OG Anunoby will be top 5 player this season

[xBulletproof]

I think this is greatly underestimating the difficulty in the jump from very good to superstar. Paul George flattened out for years before breaking through this year.

Defenses start to play you different. Especially in Siakam case, he won't be drawing the 2nd or 3rd best defender anymore. It'll be the best. Then when the defenses start keying and doubling, it's a different game again. I've seen Granger, Paul George and Oladipo all struggle with it for at least one season. Siakam hasn't had that first yet. He's still a couple years away I would guess.

**edit** Also referring to the video, workout/pickup games mean nothing. I've played with NBA players and I've seen guys who can't shoot in NBA games gun away killing it. Seen centers 260+ lbs doing spin moves and crossovers. When not going against an NBA defense, all NBA players look great.

Wow. Which NBA players did you play with?

I'm old so the 2 I'm referring to here are Vern Fleming and LaSalle "Tank" Thompson.

I've played with a handful of others. My high school had 7 guys go to Div. 1 colleges in 2 years and was ranked nationally. Biggest name is Jason Gardner who was an All American at U. Of Arizona. So I kinda ran in some circles where I played with guys on that level even though I'm not. I probably could have played small Div 2 or 3 as bench fodder but I pursued baseball.

But more to that point, even I took 100 NBA 3's without playing for a year a couple years ago. After about a week of practice or so I hit 70 something out of 100. I think it was 74, but I'm not even an NBA wing. Those guys should make everything outside of a game.

[K4P]

My predictions: Siakim makes all-NBA 2nd defensive team and is top 12 in scoring and shoots 56/40/80 with game averages of 24/8/4

not sure if that is top 5 but there aren't many guys who will be as effective at both ends

Interesting after he averaged 19/7/3 on 47/29/75 shooting in the 24 playoff games

Well he's talking about the regular season. In the regular season he doesn't have to face guys like Embiid every other night for 7 straight games. Usually he'll get a team like the Mavs and get a switch on someone like Doncic and will make quick work on the little guy for an easy peezy bucket.

You think Siakam is better than Towns?? They're not even within the same stratosphere offensively