TORONTO — With about two-and-a-half minutes to play in the second quarter and his team down 26 points, Pascal Siakam looked to make a point to back down Jaylen Brown, made a quick move over his left shoulder and softly floated in a hook shot.
A lovely move that was far too little, far too late as Siakam’s Raptors got crushed by the Boston Celtics, 111-89, and are on the brink of playoff elimination for the first time since they played Game 7 against Philadelphia last year.
Thanks to a dreadful 11-point first quarter and then a defensively disastrous second that saw them allow the Celtics to score 37, the Raptors’ Game 5 hopes of taking control of their second-round series were undone by halftime.
And while there’s a lot of blame to go around, perhaps the most puzzling aspect to narrow in on were just the three field-goal attempts for Siakam in the first half, which appears to be more of a continuation of a troubling trend seen from the Raptors’ all-star in this series.
Siakam has shown a penchant to start the game slow and then have a much better second half in all but Game 3, when the opposite was seen. Either way, Siakam’s been inconsistent for the Raptors and Game 5 looked to be an extreme example of this.
In the first half, Siakam was 2-of-3 from the field with the looks he did get looking pretty good — he just didn’t get enough of them. Obviously, the Celtics’ defence played a role in this as their defence was locked in and suffocating the entire first half, but with Siakam Toronto’s go-to scorer, the Raptors probably had to find a way to get him the ball more than they did.
“Probably both. Probably squarely on me, first and foremost. I got to look at it. I hate to look at a stat and see what the problem is when I don’t really know without looking,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse after the game, when asked if Siakam’s limited looks were more the Celtics defence or Toronto’s offence not finding him. “[But] to get back to your question, it’s probably not enough attempts for him.”
Added VanVleet when asked the same question: “I think that’s on us, that’s on me. Gotta give him more shots, gotta give him the ball, put him in good spots. But, I mean, you have an 11-point quarter, I don’t think anybody’s going at that point.
“So we’re searching a little bit, trying to find the open ones, I don’t think it’s a constant thing where we’re not looking for him. I think the ball just found other guys, and that’s the way that their defence is set up right now, so we’ve got to keep taking advantage of the open ones we get, and then when we have a chance to put him in a good spot, we’ve got to continue to do that.”
In the second half the Raptors appeared to correct their issue of not finding their top offensive threat as they ran more high-pick-and-roll with Siakam and Kyle Lowry. That freed up Siakam to score six straight points to begin the third quarter as the Raptors managed to cut a 27-point half-time deficit to a somewhat more manageable 21-point discrepancy.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last long for the Raptors as Celtics coach Brad Stevens, understanding how dangerous Siakam is, took a quick timeout to try to snuff out any momentum he and the Raptors may have been building.
“He’s terrific. Tough. You just try to guard him as hard as you can. I know that sounds simple and doesn’t give away a whole lot, but you just try to be as good as you can be. He gets where he wants to go, he’s physical, can put the ball on the floor,” said Stevens of Siakam. “He’s a really good competitor. So every time you get a stop on him, you really have to earn it. Saw at the start of the second half, he had a couple of baskets there and it looked like they were going to set the tone for the way the half was played again, and, you know, he’s tough.”
After that timeout, while Siakam kept trying to attack, he missed his next two shots and, more pertinently, picked up three more fouls to bring him to five for the game. That essentially ended his night, with the Celtics leading by 26 again with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter.
“Obviously, I didn’t want to pick up a foul like that, but it is what it is,” said Siakam of the quick fouls he picked up in the third.
Understandably, Siakam seemed a little dejected about when taking questions from reporters following the contest, but the Raptors can’t afford to let him hang his head now.
As mentioned before, Siakam has been mired in a strange trend of inconsistency and with the Raptors now literally in a do-or-die situation in their next game, they need him to figure things out — and fast — because, quite frankly, his performance in Game 5 simply wasn’t good enough.
A go-to guy should be expected to demand the ball when his team is in danger, like the Raptors were in the first half, and can’t afford to put himself into foul trouble the way he did in the third quarter. In doing both, Siakam essentially erased his own presence from Game 5, and when you’re the team’s most talented player, that just can’t happen.
This is obviously a sign of growing pains for Siakam as this is his first post-season as a No. 1 option, but the time to wait for him to figure it all out is about to run out, and everyone is still waiting.
“It could be part of it,” said Nurse when asked if Siakam’s struggles right now are related to him being a go-to guy for the first time in his career. “I don’t know. He has already kind of been through a deep playoff run and had spectacular games. I am not sure why he has been so out of rhythm since the restart in the bubble. He hasn’t had a lot of great games and I think that is more of it other than here we are in the playoffs and he is supposed to be our leading guy.
“I’m not sure he’s been in great rhythm since the restart and it’s too bad because he was spectacular in last year’s playoffs and spectacular all season long. We still got some games to play. Hopefully he can get his rhythm.”
Facing a Wednesday contest with actual win-or-go-home stakes, the Raptors would probably like more than a little hope that Siakam finds his old game again.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
