Born two in charge? Lack of leadership? The most water all-star? Junk contract spokesperson?
Peak produced hypocritical support, and in the 18-19 season, Pascal Siakam, the No. 27 show from Africa, was a hit, not only was he named the NBA's most improved player of the year, but also played the role of a surprise in the playoffs, helping the Raptors lift the first championship trophy in team history and win himself a 4-year, $120 million cap;
That summer, Siakam was a top figure like Leonard, especially when the latter announced that he would join the Clippers, and everyone was optimistic that he could take over and become Toronto's next "King", but what was the result?
Dusk witnessed the real apostle, in the 2 seasons that Siakam picked the beam, the Raptors' record began to decline off a cliff, and last season was even missed from the playoffs, although he was selected once an All-Star starter and a best second team by virtue of his high ball rights, but in terms of efficiency and court influence, he was a second-rate star;
For a time, Sika became the target of everyone, how much praise there was, now how much insults, overwhelming accusations, and even the Raptors began to doubt their own vision.
Last offseason, the Torontoman also tried to put Sika on the negotiating table and probe the tone of other teams, getting either "No" or some garbage contracts, especially when Sika decided to undergo shoulder surgery, and there were even fewer teams interested in him.
But now, the Raptors have to thank those who reject them, otherwise, they may really regret it for the rest of their lives.
Look at Siakam today, after that operation, he seems to be reborn, not only improving efficiency, but also developing organizational skills, under his leadership, the Raptors have also returned to the ranks of strong teams, with a record of 31 wins and 23 losses, temporarily ranking 6th in the East.
List a few sets of data to give you a feel for Siakam's individual performance and role in the Raptors.
Averaged 21.8 points per game, the first place in the team;
Averaged 8.7 rebounds per game, no. 1 in the team and no. 1 in his career;
Averaged 5.2 assists per game, second in the team and first in his career;
BPM: 3.0, career first;
True offensive plus-minus: 2.4, career first;
Averaged 1.27 steals per game, career first;
Averaged 4.1 jammed three-point shots per game, no. 1 in the league;
In addition, he has a number of statistics, which is a new high after winning the championship in 19 years, such as 56.4% true shooting rate, true defensive plus-minus of 0.6, victory contribution value per 48 minutes, and VORP value.
In the team, when Siakam is on the floor, the Raptors have 6.3 points per 100 rounds on the offensive end, 1.2 points less on the defensive end per 100 rounds, and 5.2 points per 100 rounds, which is the first place among the main players.
From these data, it can be seen that Siakam has become more and more leader temperament, not only can score their own points, but also can launch tactics, drive teammates around them, defense can lead by example, lead the way, especially in the recent period, Sika led the Raptors to win 8 consecutive wins, 8 games, 7 games to score 20+, of which 4 games 20 + 10, it is worth mentioning that the Raptors This wave of consecutive wins has a fairly high gold content, 2 times to defeat the current First Heat in the East, and the second Bulls, and in these 3 hard battles, Sika has a great play.
On Jan. 30 against the Heat, he had 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four blocks;
Against the Bulls on Feb. 4, he had 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block;
As for why Siakam suddenly woke up, it is mainly these 2 reasons:
One is the success of the operation, for a long time in the past, Siakam has been plagued by shoulder injuries, not only affecting the end of the basket, the jump shot shooting rate, and the layup shooting rate has also been affected, and now, the recovered Siakam, his basket shooting rate has not only returned to 70%, the other 2 shooting rates have also increased from 34% and 54.3% to 40.1% and 61.4% respectively;
The second is the improvement of tactical status, don't look at Sika with the core title, but in the past 2 seasons, Lowry is the main backbone of this team, this season, with the departure of Lowry, Nas began to design tactics around Sika, and made a lot of attempts, such as letting him play center, in this position, he has played more than 700 minutes, more than the sum of the past 2 seasons;
It was these changes that saved Siakam's precarious career.
So, erase your stereotype of Siakam, because from this moment on, he has really become the core of the Raptors, as to whether he is qualified, I think the hearts of Toronto fans should be "satisfied" answers.