The NBA playoffs continued, and today the Pacers hosted the Knicks, who won 116-103. Pushed the series to a tie-break.
In this game, Siakam of the Pacers scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Haliburton had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. In this year's playoffs, Haliburton did not play the role of the team's main attacker, but Siakam became the team's number one offensive strength. In this year's playoffs, Siakam ranked first in points per game in the team, averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 54% from the field.
The Pacers didn't trade Siakam in the middle of this season, and many teams in the league wanted Siakam before they traded for him, including the Warriors, who were also rumored to be trading with Siakam at the time. At that time, the Warriors very much wanted to get Siakam, because Siakam was a player with strong offensive ability, especially in the mid-range, but Siakam had no intention of joining the Warriors, rejected the Warriors and then chose to join the Pacers.
On the one hand, Siakam may think that the Pacers will be more competitive, and on the other hand, it may be that Siakam values his role with the Pacers more. If Siakam joins the Warriors, he will be the team's third offensive option. After coming to the Pacers, Siakam became the team's No. 1 offensive point. Including Haliburton, who is now averaging less shots per game than Siakam, Siakam is now more content with his position in the team.
Even many fans think that Siakam has great ambitions, he doesn't want to be a foil for other teams, he doesn't want to assist others, he wants to play the leader of a team himself. All he needs to do is improve his leadership qualities and play more iconic games. Now on the Pacers' side, Haliburton is hard to get too good shots after being targeted by the opponent, so Siakam has a good opportunity to prove his offensive ability.
If he can be the team's consistent No. 1 point of attack, he will naturally have a say in becoming the leader of the team. Although Haliburton is young, although he is considered by many to be a future superstar, there are still many shortcomings in the current situation, and it is clear that Siakam has a chance to become the leader of this team, and he is using his performance to conquer Indiana fans little by little.