Earlier today, the Raptors visited Philadelphia to usher in a showdown with the 76ers, although the first quarter was played by the other side a 37-27 downside, but in the next three quarters, the Raptors relied on strong defense, so that the 76ers in the back of the total only 51 points, and finally 93-88 successfully reversed the opponent, took this precious victory, and this game Raptors can laugh to the end, Siakam is definitely the key, this campaign he started 36 minutes, 20 shots 10 cut 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, In the confrontation with Harden and Embiid, the two super giants, there is no downfall.
As a player cultivated by the Raptors themselves, Siakam, who was selected by the Raptors with the first round of the 27th overall pick in the 16-year draft, was actually an optional blue-collar dragon suit role in the early part of his career, but after Devon Casey was dismissed and the Raptors were in charge of the Raptors' seal by Ninick North, Siakam also got plenty of room to show, and after successfully following the team to win the championship in the 18-19 season, Siakam benefited from the departure of the core Leonard in the following season, and also ushered in an outbreak. He averaged a career-best 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game that season, entered the All-Star Full Game for the first time in his career, and won the honor of best second team, and that season, thanks to Siakam's outstanding performance, the Raptors continued to break into the playoffs and reached the semifinals.
In the summer when Leonard left (2019), the Raptors immediately reached a 4-year, 130 million salary extension with Siakam, and it is true that the contract officially came into effect in the 20-21 season (before the rookie contract), but Siakam can show good competitiveness when he has just signed a fat contract, and also let the Raptors management see his hopes of growing into a superstar later.
Unfortunately, last season Siakam did not continue to maintain the strength of the 19-20 season, the average score per game fell to 21.4 points, the three-point shooting rate of 29.7% compared with the previous 35.9% also had a very large decline, although the average score per game remained at the threshold of 20+, but Siakam's dominance of the game was indeed not as good as the year he broke out, more suspected of "brushing data".
It is also because of Siakam's slump that the Raptors only made 27 wins and 45 losses last season, missing the playoffs early. After undergoing shoulder surgery in June last year, Siakam also missed 10 games in the early days of the Raptors this season, until the comeback with the Nets on November 8, this time after lowry, the core of the backcourt, Siakam was indeed more decisive and confident than last season in handling the ball, no longer have to worry about whether to pass or shoot, it is this decisiveness that allows Siakam to regain himself and get rid of his "high salary and low ability" label this season. Regained his worth of 130 million.
As of now, Siakam can average 22 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 37.7 minutes of playing time, in addition to scoring, the rest of the items are career highs, and his three shooting rates have also come to 48.7%, 35.9% and 74.2% respectively, and the certainty on the offensive end is indeed a notch higher than last season. Thanks to Siakam's recovery, the Raptors have also regained their competitiveness this season, ranking seventh in the East with a record of 40 wins and 31 losses, only 1 win away from the sixth Cavaliers, if Siakam can maintain such a stable play as it is now, the Raptors are not without the opportunity to overtake the Cavaliers later and win this position that can directly enter the playoffs.