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Tim BontempsESPN
The Toronto Raptors backed All-Star striker Pascal Siakam for Thursday night’s 100-83 victory over the New York Knicks in Tampa, Florida.
“It was a discipline for an internal problem,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said after his team won its first game of the season. “This is the decision we have made. We will only carry this.”
When asked what message she hoped Siakam’s money would send to the team, the nurse said, “Just a certain way we want to do things. Everyone needs to be a part of this. It’s as simple as that. “
While the nurse did not go into detail about what led to the decision to replace Siakam, the 26-year-old striker made a mistake in Tuesday’s 100-93 loss to the 76ers – the third straight loss in Siakam. Toronto, which opened the season, all came after the Raptors held double-digit lead – 25.6 seconds to the end, and he immediately left the field and entered the locker room at downtown Wells Fargo in Philadelphia.
Siakam is expected to return for the next game in Toronto, which is on Saturday in New Orleans against the Pelicans. A source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Siakam would not be fined.
Rapture guard Fred VanVleet said the decision to replace Siakam was announced to the team at the shootaround on Thursday morning.
“This is something that will not linger,” VanVleet said. “It’s over and it’s over. [Pascal] was awesome. He did very well. It was great energy for us on the bench tonight, even if it wasn’t played. I can’t wait to get him back there. “
It was a difficult start to the season for Siakam, after admitting that he was not himself in the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In the first three games of this season, Siakam recorded 39.3% overall and made 3.7 turnovers per game.
On Thursday, Toronto managed to retire in the second half after being tied at the break, with Norman Powell – who replaced Siakam at the starting line – scoring 17 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals, one assist. and a block while you finish a plus-28 game in 34 minutes.
“The next man up,” Powell said when asked what his thought process was when he was told to start in Siakam’s place. “Everything we have to do with a team is always internal, so we take care of that. We understand what happened and why, but we don’t think about it. We focus on the game, everyone taking advantage of this opportunity being the next person up there, going there, executing the game plan and doing everything necessary to get the first victory. And when Pascal returns, we still have to come out with that energy, no matter what the role and how many minutes you play. That energy we played with tonight must be consistent first. “