With the departure of Lowry and others, the Raptors completely lost the attention of the past, the original king, after Leonard left, step by step into the abyss, the championship heroes left one after another, the team was fragmented, facing the possibility of reconstruction, but the reality of all this did not wear away the Torontons' desire for victory, this season the Raptors ranked sixth in the East with 31 wins and 23 losses, can't help but sigh, what is there to be proud of, after all, it is only sixth, but please do not forget the cruelty of competition in the East this season, As strong as the Nets, they can only rank eighth in the East, not to mention, the Raptors also played a 57% winning percentage, and the biggest contributor to all this is Siakam.
As an older draft player, Siakam's performance in the first two seasons was not too outstanding, until Leonard's joining, let him instantly find the confidence to win, in the 2018-19 season, Siakam was not only selected as the NBA's most improved player, but even played the role of a surprise in the playoffs, averaging 19 points per game to help the Raptors lift the first championship in team history, and he himself also received a $130 million top salary contract.
Unfortunately, Leonard did not stay on the team, he chose a big city like Los Angeles, and Siakam became the future of the Raptors, and many people thought that Siakam would be more reused to fill the gap that Leonard left. But without Leonard's restraint, Siakam became the face of the garbage contract, two seasons later, the Raptors did not have a very good record, although he stabilized his 20+ data with high ball rights, but the team's record has always proved his value.
Even the team has doubts, once put Siakam on the negotiating table in the offseason, but Siakam's performance has not been recognized by too many teams, and the big contract that has just begun and the problem of shoulder surgery have allowed him to successfully stay with the Raptors, in fact, it is the Unintentional move of the Raptors that has made Siakam successful today.
Although Siakam has not been selected as an All-Star this season, Xiao Feng feels that this season is the season he has played best, the data is not representative of the whole, and the contribution of a player to the team is the most important measure. Siakam has averaged 21.8 points per game this season, which is not as good as his peak, but his 8.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game have all set career highs. According to statistics, when Siakam is on the floor, the Raptors have 6.3 points per hundred rounds on the offensive end, and the defensive end has to lose 1.2 points per 100 rounds, and the net victory over the opponent in 100 rounds is 5.2 points, which is the contribution of Siakam.
Now Siakam has proved his leadership temperament, not only can he score, but also developed his own ability to assist, the most important thing is his contribution on the defensive end, the leader can be blamed with his voice, let alone others. Unconsciously, the Raptors have experienced a wave of 8 consecutive wins, and it is worth mentioning that during the 8-game winning streak, their gold content is full, and the First Heat in the East and the Second Bulls all fell under their hands.
At first, many people thought that Siakam was just a less competent second boss, now it seems that we are wrong, when the Raptors helped Siakam, he gave the team a great reward with his performance, Lowry's departure actually helped Siakam's growth to some extent, of course, and the damn injury, now he is in good health, after getting rid of the shoulder injury, Siakam has become stronger.
The team that originally rejected Siakam now wants to re-recruit Siakam, in fact, it has become a luxury, he has become the core of the team, the Raptors will only build on the existing foundation, and will not waste The peak of Siakam.