Pascal Siakam Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Notes: COVID Absences, Depth, Lowry, Harris

March 4th, 2021 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After playing without several key rotation players on Wednesday night vs. Detroit due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Raptors will be missing those same players on Thursday in Boston. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets, the club officially announced that Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, and Patrick McCaw remain in the protocols and have been ruled out for tonight’s game.

Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, the only starters unaffected by the protocols, combined to score 57 points on 19-of-31 shooting on Wednesday, but the rest of the Raptors contributed just 48 total points on 15-of-46 shooting. Toronto will need more from its supporting cast on Thursday if the club hopes to knock off the Celtics.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

While any team would struggle without three of its starters, the Raptors’ blowout loss to the lowly Pistons on Wednesday shone a light on the team’s lack of reliable depth, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The absences of key players provided a chance for one or two role part-timers to step up and make a case for more minutes, but no one really seized that opportunity, Grange adds.
There are compelling reasons both for and against trading Kyle Lowry at the deadline, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who explores the dilemma facing the Raptors and notes that the team is under pressure to get the decision right.
The Raptors have reassigned rookie guard Jalen Harris to the Raptors 905 at Walt Disney World after recalling him for Wednesday’s game, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Harris now should have a chance to clear the G League bubble’s quarantine protocols in time to play for Toronto’s affiliate in the NBAGL postseason tournament next week.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Smart, Thibodeau, Sixers, Rose

March 2nd, 2021 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There are positive signs that the Pistons–Raptors game in Tampa will be played on Wednesday but Toronto will have to go without three starters. Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby have been ruled out under the league’s health and safety protocols, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw will also be sidelined by the protocols. Jalen Harris and Donta Hall have been recalled from the G League bubble in Orlando, Lewenberg adds.

A majority of the coaching staff, including head coach Nick Nurse, will also miss the game, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Those coaches were placed under the protocols prior to the team’s game on Friday. Sergio Scariolo will once again run the team on Wednesday. The Raptors, who had their game against Chicago on Sunday postponed, were originally scheduled to face Detroit on Tuesday.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Marcus Smart is “getting a lot closer” to returning to action, according to Celtics coach Brad Stevens. Mark Murphy of the Boston Globe tweets that Smart will benefit from additional team practice time after the All-Star break. Smart has been out since January 30 due to a Grade 1 left calf strain.
Tom Thibodeau has established himself as a serious candidate for Coach of the Year in his first season with the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Knicks players have been impressed with how hard the staff works and it has resulted in a winning record entering Tuesday’s game.
The Sixers have been given the go-ahead by the city of Philadelphia to bring back crowds in a limited capacity, the team tweets. The team will be allowed to have crowds at 15% capacity, or approximately 3,100 fans.
Knicks guard Derrick Rose missed the team’s game against San Antonio on Tuesday after being placed under the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.

Siakam Expected To Miss Next Three Games

February 27th, 2021 at 12:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is expected to remain sidelined until after the All-Star break due to the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Siakam was placed under those protocols on Friday and missed the team’s game against Houston. A majority of the coaching staff, including head coach Nick Nurse, also missed the game due to those restrictions.

Siakam is averaging 20.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 4.8 APG this season. Toronto was able to get past the Rockets 122-111 with Chris Boucher taking his spot in the lineup. Yuta Watanabe received some additional playing time off the bench.

The Raptors, who are sitting at .500, have home dates with Chicago and Detroit and a road trip to Boston prior to the break.

Siakam Out Due To COVID-19 Protocols; Scariolo To Coach Raptors

February 26th, 2021 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:43pm: One Raptors coach is believed to have tested positive for COVID-19, while the others are ruled out due to contact tracing and are quarantining, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

As for Siakam, Grange reports (via Twitter) that the forward returned an inconclusive rapid test and is awaiting the result of his PCR test. If it’s negative, he could be cleared to play in the Raptors’ next game on Sunday.

5:06pm: In addition to missing head coach Nick Nurse and five other members of their coaching staff, the Raptors will also be without star forward Pascal Siakam on Friday night vs. Houston due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star tweets.

One key assistant will be available and will temporarily ascend to the head coaching role in Nurse’s absence, according to the Raptors, who announced that Sergio Scariolo will coach the club on Friday night (Twitter link via Marc Stein of The New York Times).

Scariolo recently coached the Spanish national team for qualifying games for the 2022 EuroBasket tournament and had been quarantining before being cleared to rejoin the Raptors, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Scariolo completed his quarantine period this morning, just in time to provide a much-needed veteran coaching presence on the depleted Toronto bench.

It remains unclear how much time Siakam and the Raptors’ coaches will miss. Some individuals affected by the protocols this season have been cleared after just a day or two if a contact tracing investigation determines they weren’t a close contact of someone who tested positive.

However, if they are determined to have been a close contact of someone who tested positive – or if they tested positive themselves – they may not be available until after the All-Star break.

Raptors Notes: Watanabe, Johnson, McCaw, Harris, 3-Point Shots

January 29th, 2021 at 6:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Yuta Watanabe and Stanley Johnson have emerged as key bench contributors for the Raptors, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star notes. “I think both (Watanabe) and Stanley have been doing a good job … when they check in to get our offense into another gear,” coach Nick Nurse said. Both players are trying to solidify the futures in the league. Johnson is headed to unrestricted free agency, while Watanabe is on a two-way deal.

We have more on the Raptors:

Patrick McCaw is showing some progress from his knee injury that has kept him out this season, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. McCaw participated in the non-contact portion of practice on Thursday. OG Anunoby (calf) and Norman Powell (quad) both missed Friday’s game against Sacramento.
Rookie guard Jalen Harris is joining Raptors 905 at the G League bubble in Orlando, Murphy adds in another tweet. The second-round pick from Nevada has appeared in two NBA games.
Toronto is on pace to take the second-most 3-pointers in league history and that may explain why the team is shooting fewer free throws, Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star notes. The Raptors were averaging 43.2 3-point attempts a game heading into Friday’s action but taking just 20.2 foul shots. The over-reliance on 3-point shots may help explain forward Pascal Siakam‘s slow start, Feschuk adds.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors’ Start, Johnson, Thibodeau, Nets

January 5th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are struggling to cope with a slow start, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Fred VanVleet, who opted to re-sign with the club, admits that the 1-5 start has been tough to take.

“This is probably uncharted territory for most of us,” VanVleet said. “Just speaking for myself, I’ve never been a part of something like this. … There’s a boatload of problems and we’ve got to find ways to solve them.”

Pascal Siakam and free agent signee Aron Baynes have performed poorly in the early going.

“I think [Siakam] is gonna work himself back into it a little bit more, and I think we don’t worry about it,” Kyle Lowry said. “We can’t worry about him too much. We’ve got to figure it out and all of us come together.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Stanley Johnson has displaced Matt Thomas in the Raptors’ rotation, Bontemps tweets. Coach Nick Nurse wants more size on the wing and has been disappointed in the play of both Thomas and Terence Davis. Johnson, noted for his defense, played 11 scoreless minutes but contributed two assists and three steals in 11 minutes against Boston on Monday. Davis held his rotation spot, scoring 13 points in 17 minutes. Johnson exercised a $3.8MM player option prior to the season and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Julius Randle has been the Knicks’ top player in their 4-3 start, and he gives plenty of credit to new coach Tom Thibodeau, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Randle said Thibodeau’s attention to detail has created a greater focus. “Thibs every day is on us,” he said. “He’s a great leader for us and given us a game plan we believe in every day and we’re coming into every game focused and locked into the game plan of what we need to do.”
The Nets are below .500 and won’t have Kevin Durant for as many as four games. But coach Steve Nash sees a silver lining, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “Plenty to clean up,” Nash said. “It’s early. We can’t lose our minds over it, and we can’t get overly frustrated. … And you know what? It’s good for us. It’s good to get a little tension. We’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable, so here we are.”

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Rivers, Siakam, Barrett

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:16pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau praised Mitchell Robinson and his confidence, expressing optimism that a rise will come for the 22-year-old center, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes.

Robinson, who was drafted by the Knicks No. 36 overall in 2018, has started in all six of the team’s contests this season. Thibodeau was hesitant to name Robinson as a starter prior to the season, jumpstarting a competition between him and Nerlens Noel.

“Let’s talk about Mitch,” Thibodeau said. “He’s just, every day he’s growing and growing and growing. The way he’s working, studying, preparing for the games. you could see his confidence grow. He’s making multiple effort plays. He’s a hard guy to score over. And he’s really the anchor of the defense back there. And offensively there’s a lot of room for him to grow. He’s putting a lot of time in.”

As for when Robinson could take the next step in his improvement, the veteran coach gave a blunt response: “You guys haven’t seen it yet, but it’s coming.” Robinson has averaged 8.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game to start the season.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Sixers coach Doc Rivers has inspired others while reaching a new milestone in his career, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Rivers, a former head coach with Orlando, is now 10th on the all-time coaching regular-season wins list, though he remains focused on his current team and not on any career achievements. “I don’t look at what I’m doing, honestly. I’d love to say — I know it means something and I know it means a lot to people, but I just I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I’ve never been able to put myself in that place where I’m thinking about what I’m doing. I think I have fooled myself that I’m really young and I have a whole career to go, and maybe that’s why I don’t, but I do feel like I’ve got a lot to do and so I don’t think about it that often.”
Raptors star Pascal Siakam continued his struggles in the team’s 120-116 loss to New Orleans on Saturday, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Siakam finished with just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, fouling out in less than 25 minutes. “He struggled, no doubt about it,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought he had a few decent plays and a few good drives in there, but he obviously struggled. Half-count off rhythm there at both ends a little bit, which is getting him in foul trouble and not letting him be able to finish some plays at the offensive end as well.”
Knicks guard RJ Barrett vowed to continue shooting despite being in a slump last week, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Barrett turned his play around on Saturday, giving New York a 25-point performance on 8-of-15 shooting. He also finished with four threes, five rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Raptors, Brown, Simmons

January 1st, 2021 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors don’t expect Pascal Siakam‘s one-game benching to become an ongoing issue, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN. Coach Nick Nurse elected to hold Siakam out of Thursday’s game after he went straight to the locker room rather than the bench after fouling out with 25.6 seconds remaining Tuesday night.

Nurse called it “a disciplinary thing for an internal matter,” and Siakam accepted the decision, a source tells Lewenberg. Because it wasn’t technically a suspension, Siakam won’t lose any money.

“I don’t think anybody’s happy to see him not play, but that was the decision that came down, so you roll with it,” Fred VanVleet said. “We’re all in this together and everybody makes mistakes. This is something that’s not gonna linger around us. P was great. He was great, he handled it very well, he was a great energy for us on the bench tonight even though he wasn’t playing, and we can’t wait to get him back out there with us.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Backup center Alex Len said there was “definitely tension in the locker room” after the Raptors lost their first three games, which indicates problems that go beyond one incident with Siakam, notes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Toronto picked up its first win Thursday night after blowing double-digit leads in each of the three losses.
Jaylen Brown is ready to take on a larger role with the Celtics‘ offense after Gordon Hayward‘s departure in free agency, observes Tom Westerholm of Boston.com. “I’m definitely trying to accept the challenge, and I’m excited about this year in general for our group,” said Brown, who had a career-high 42 points Wednesday night. “I think we still have a great group. We have a lot to learn, I have a lot to learn but I think we are all embracing that challenge. Personally, for me, to be in a new and different role with more responsibility, I love and I want to handle that great responsibility to make sure I get other guys involved, all my teammates and try to be the best leader I can possibly be.”
Sixers guard Ben Simmons hit his third career three-pointer Thursday night and is becoming more comfortable with the shot, according to Ky Carlin of Yahoo Sports. “I’ve seen him make it in practice and I know he can knock it down,” said teammate Seth Curry. “Especially from the corner so it’s just a matter of him doing it in a game and stepping into it with confidence. It didn’t look like there was too much hesitation on the shot and I expected it to go in.”

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Green, Rivers, Celtics

December 31st, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Raptors will sit healthy forward Pascal Siakam tonight against the Knicks in favor of Norman Powell to penalize the All-Star, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. After Siakam fouled out with less than a minute left in Toronto’s 100-93 loss to the Sixers Tuesday, he headed to the locker room early.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets that this penalty seems harsh and speculates that there may be hidden depths to the Raptors’ motivation for a healthy scratch.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics have tweeted that second-year reserve shooting guard Javonte Green missed yesterday’s game against the Grizzlies due to the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Knicks off-guard Austin Rivers is set to make his debut for New York tonight against the Raptors after recovering from a groin injury, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. Berman notes that Rivers said he has yet to even partake in five-on-five practices with the Knicks yet. The Knicks may have pressed him into service due to the injuries of Dennis Smith Jr. and Immanuel Quickley.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe lists 21 intriguing items that Celtics fans can be on the lookout for in the new calendar year, including the on-court return of point guard Kemba Walker and potential trade deadline roster moves.

Raptors Notes: DeRozan, VanVleet, Siakam, TV Deal

December 27th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors are among the teams rumored to be interested in acquiring James Harden, but Michael Grange of Sportsnet believes DeMar DeRozan might be a better fit. DeRozan, a franchise cornerstone in Toronto for nine seasons, scored 27 points Saturday night to help the Spurs defeat his former team.

“I think throughout the years I’ve known him, played with him, played against him in the last couple, I think he just continues (to grow),” said Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. “… He’s become more of a playmaker, and I think that’s his strength right now, is still being able to score but he’s able to play make for everybody else and make life easier for the other guys, like role players, and getting guys the ball where they need it and getting them open looks and giving them confidence to be good.”

All that sounds perfect for Toronto, according to Grange, who states that the team could use another multi-talented offensive threat. DeRozan is making $27.7MM in the final year of his contract, Grange adds, so the Raptors may target him in free agency if they don’t want to give up part of their young core in a trade.

There’s more on the Raptors:

Fred VanVleet has evolved into a leadership role, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. VanVleet is ready for that responsibility after inking a four-year, $85MM deal over the offseason that ensures his long-term future with the team. “I’ve been in this position for a long time now, since I was a little kid, and there were times I wasn’t so good at it and times I’ve been great,” he said. “I just try to manage that every day and just try to help guys reach their full potential.”
Everything was going well for the Raptors in March, but they haven’t been the same team since the league went on hiatus, Smith observes in a separate story. Pascal Siakam in particular looked like a different player during the restart in Orlando. “It was weird watching myself,” he said. “When I watched the game, one of the things I really pointed out was just that I didn’t recognize myself in terms of having fun. I’m always someone that has fun playing the game. I love this game, and I don’t ever want to play the game without any joy.”
The Raptors have reached a deal to have some of their games televised locally in their temporary home of Tampa, Florida, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Tampa Bay Times. The Magic own territorial rights to the area.