‘Pascal Siakam needs to read every article about him”- Kyle Lowry responds to criticism against Raptors teammate post playoff exit

Speaking to the press after the Raptors’ Game 7 loss to the Celtics, Kyle Lowry talked about the advice he had in mind for Siakam, who has not played well in the bubble.

The Toronto Raptors were held to 87 points on 41% shooting by the Boston Celtics in a win-or-go-home game 7.

They took 11 fewer shots than the Cs and turned the ball over 18 times, in contrast to the Celtics’ 9 turnovers. They trailed their opponents for most of the game, barring a sequence in which there were consecutive lead changes.

Kyle Lowry backs Siakam to get out of poor form

Pascal Siakam had a significant drop-off in form from the regular season to the Celtics series. He shot a torrid 38.5% from the field and just 12.5% on his 3-point attempts.

He got virtually locked up by the smaller Jaylen Brown in the post area and failed to get any sort of scoring momentum going. Kyle Lowry was still supportive of his teammate through his tough phases.

Lowry emphasised on the fact that Siakam will need to embrace every negative thing being written about him in the press. He will need to take inspiration from that and then comeback stronger next season.

If the criticism forces him into his shell, it won’t do anyone any good and hence the only way to bounce back from this is accepting the poor performance and moving on.

Lowry on Siakam: “I think this is a learning experience. I think it’s only going to make him a better basketball player, a better man, a better everything. And I would not be surprised to see him come back even hungrier and destroying people.”

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 12, 2020

Kyle Lowry: “When we got swept by the Wizards I read every single article. I read every single thing that was said about me – good, bad, evil, terrible, awesome, and I used it as motivation. And that’s what (Siakam) is going to do. That’s the advice I would give him.”

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 12, 2020

Siakam signed a 4 year, $130 million contract extension in October last year that kicks in from next season. The 26-year-old is expected to be an All Star and the Raptors’ franchise player over the duration of his next contract.

With the likes of Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol on the final legs of their careers and Fred van Vleet rumored to leave in free agency, the onus will be even tougher on Siakam next season.