Pascal Siakam’s reputation on defense has started to get ahead of the actual evidence, and that’s where the conversation gets sloppy.
A social media post making the rounds today took a swing at the Indiana Pacers forward, and while the presentation was chaotic, it did surface a couple of real basketball points. One of them had to do with Siakam’s free throws. The other went much further, arguing that he’s an awful defender and not a proper No. 2 option because he can’t expand his role when the situation demands it.
That second part is where the argument loses the plot.
The free-throw concern is fair enough. Siakam has seen his foul-shooting efficiency drop by 4%, all the way to the lowest mark since he was a sophomore averaging seven points per game. He’s getting to the line more often, now at six free-throw attempts per game, but that dip means he’s still giving away about two points a night.
The bigger criticism is harder to buy.
I’m a fan of analytics. They cut through the noise when a fan base gets too attached to looks and vibes. They also helped keep the Pacers from turning into one of those “that boy is nice” teams when Caris LeVert was looking like a creator while actually stinking up the court.
And yes, the numbers usually love the best players for a reason. Good players tend to be good. That part isn’t complicated.
But analytics can get twisted in the same way film study can when people see what they want to see.
Siakam is a perfect example. During Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals, Pascal and Tyrese Haliburton were about +12 together. When Haliburton was off the floor, Siakam couldn’t drag the rest of the group into positive territory by himself, again approximately.
That does say something: Siakam has trouble carrying the offense without a setup man feeding him. For a player taking up 30% of the cap, that’s a real limitation.
But the more important question for a No. 2 option isn’t whether he can morph into a temporary No. 1 for 12 minutes a game. It’s whether he can scale down next to another star and still make the whole thing work.
That’s where Siakam matters most. He fits with Haliburton.
He’s excellent in that role, and that’s the part that counts far more than what he can do when he’s isolated from it. They’ll share the floor for more than 30 minutes a night anyway, which is basically 75% of the game.
That’s the logic behind the roster, too. The whole setup is built around scalability.
What can you do with less? Show that first, then you earn more.
and understand that this is a feature, not a bug.
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What matters most early on is less about the final score and more about whether the group looks connected. For a team trying to build momentum for the season ahead, chemistry and morale can matter just as much as any box score detail, and this opener should offer at least a first glimpse of how well the Pacers are building that foundation. [Read more 🡒]