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Toronto Raptors need Pascal Siakam more than ever
Already down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors were half a second away from being on the verge of elimination. Then, OG Anunoby scored a triple on the buzzer that will live on forever in team history.
With a new life and a chance to tie the series at two games each on Saturday night, you can’t help but wonder what the Raptors will do with this lifesaver. Being down 3-0 is a death sentence in the NBA playoffs – no team in league history has won a series after losing 3-0. The fact that they have a chance to even the series in Game 4 after losing two points and 0.5 seconds in Game 3 is an absolute miracle.
The Raptors have to see this entire series in a different light right now. In the past two games, these two teams have essentially faced a draw: Boston won Game 2 by three points and the Raptors won Game 3 by one.
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If it hadn’t been for Marcus Smart’s five 3s to open the final quarter of Game 2, maybe the Raptors would be the team with a 2-1 lead in the series. There are two sides of the thought: I’m sure Boston fans are caught up in the fact that they were one shot away from a 3-0 series lead.
However, what remains true for Toronto is that they have momentum, life. It may have been a last-throw effort in Game 3, and with 34-year-old Kyle Lowry playing 46 minutes in a 48-minute game, but they must have some energy in their stride today at practice or in their meetings. team.
None of this will matter if the Raptors lose Game 4 or if they fold in five games. Game 3 was a great story, but if they’re going to make this a series and possibly win Game 4, one thing is clear above the rest: they’ll need to see more of Pascal Siakam.
Siakam got off to a terrible start in Game 3 after running into foul trouble in the first half, but is averaging just 15 points and six rebounds on 36 percent shooting from the field and 17 percent shooting from 3-pointers in this game. Serie. You can argue that he looks like the third or fourth best player for the Raptors against the Celtics.
If the Raptors are going to extend this series beyond five games or even win it, Siakam has to be the best player on the team. Toronto can’t trust Lowry to play 46 minutes again and a winning shot from OG Anunoby.
For much of the season, the Raptors relied on two important factors in their path to success in the Eastern Conference: playing great defense and hitting 3-pointers at speed. The Raptors were in the top 5 during the regular season in defense rating, 3-point record and 3-point percentage.
Against the Celtics, they’ve been a pretty good defensive team, but it’s their three-point shots that have really taken a hit. In three games against the Celtics, Toronto is only shooting 28 percent from beyond the arc – they shot 43 percent from deep in their four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets.
Heading into Game 4, Siakam and the team’s shooting will have to be better for this team to find any success against Boston. The Celtics are very well trained and combine well with Toronto. The margin of error just doesn’t exist for the Raptors in this series.
The Toronto Raptors have a new life in this series, but if Pascal Siakam doesn’t solve his Jaylen Brown riddle or the 3 don’t start to fall, the miraculous Game 3 win will be nothing more than a bittersweet memory.
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