The NBA playoffs are underway, and teams have played two games so far, and the Eastern Conference side of the Pacers took on the Bucks away today, and they finally won 125-108 against the Bucks. Pulling one back on the road, the series was tied at 1:1.
The reason why the Pacers can win this game is closely related to Siakam's play, Siakam once again cut 37 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists today, and in the last game between the two teams, Siakam also scored 36 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists. In the two games of the playoffs, Siakam averaged 36.5 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He is shooting 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, and he currently ranks first in the league in points per game in the playoffs.
At the moment, the Pacers are very dependent on Siakam, because after the playoffs, Haliburton's offense seems to have failed, and he has lost the spirit of playing at the beginning of this season. Siakam, on the other hand, is largely unstoppable on the offensive end, and his shooting percentage is surprisingly high. It seems that many fans praise the Pacers for choosing to trade Siakam in the middle of the season is really an extremely wise choice.
In fact, it was not only the Pacers but also the Warriors who were rumored to be traded with Siakam in the middle of the season this year. But Siakam doesn't seem interested in joining the Warriors. He then chose to join the Pacers. And the chips given out by the Pacers are also very low. It's fair to say that the Pacers' acquisition of Siakam was definitely the perfect mid-season trade of the season.
Siakam is definitely the most underrated star in the league. In this league, when we talk about star rankings, Siakam may not even be able to make it into the top 30 in the league. But there's no denying that Siakam really is a very strong player in the playoffs. In recent seasons, his playoff performance has been steady and improving. In the 2022 season of the Raptors' playoffs, he can average 22.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
Clearly, the Warriors weren't able to impress Siakam in the middle of the season. At the moment, the Warriors are becoming less attractive, and they are struggling to attract some stars. Imagine if Siakam had joined the Warriors in the middle of the season, the Warriors might have made the playoffs. And if Curry has Siakam by his side, it can also solve Curry's dilemma of not being able to score when he is guarded by the opposing team. Siakam is a very independent offensive player, and he made a very strong impression when he met the Warriors in the Finals in the early years.
Siakam will have his contract fully expired this offseason and become a free agent, there will definitely be a lot of teams competing for it in the offseason, and the Pacers should hurry up and get ready for a max contract, such a player is definitely an extremely important core for the Pacers.