Nick Nurse was in shambles during the post-game interview after Game 5 as he struggled to understand and explain Pascal Siakam’s reduced impact.
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Pascal Siakam has played way below par in the Raptors’ second round series against the Celtics. His scoring average has dipped to 15.8 points per game from 22.9 in the regular season. His field goal percentage is down from 45.3% to 41.6%, and his shot attempts have dipped sharply to 15.8 from 18.4 per game. He was the Raptors’ leading scorer during the season.
Nick Nurse says he needs to find ways to get Pascal Siakam more involved
Nick Nurse lamented the fact that Siakam wasn’t playing up to the mark. He said he didn’t understand why Siakam was unable to assert himself as he did during the season.
Nurse still retains his belief in his All Star forward given his performances in the regular season and last year’s playoffs. The key, according to him, would be to get him more involved earlier in games.
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Nurse on Siakam: “I’m not sure why he’s been so out of rhythm since the restart. He hasn’t had a lot of great games… It’s too bad because he was spectacular in last year’s playoffs & he was spectacular all season long. We still have games to go. Hopefully he can get his rhythm”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 8, 2020
Nurse also said that it’s “squarely” on him “first and foremost” to get Siakam involved early in games.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 8, 2020
The Raptors are now in won or go home mode for the next 2 games of the series. They will have to up the ante on the offensive end. They’ve shot poorly from 3-point range in 4 out of 5 games against the Celtics.
And in order for the Raptors to have a realistic chance of turning things around, Siakam will need to get into his groove.
