On Thursday, the Toronto Raptors further strengthened their position in the upper half of the Eastern Conference playoff race by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-98. The Raptors were led by superstar Kawhi Leonard and his 25-point outing. But that goes without saying that the team also got yet another key output from role players like power forward Pascal Siakam, who finished Thursday's contest with a solid line of 16 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Contributions from the likes of Siakam have turned Toronto into one of the more feared playoff contenders in the league. However, the 6-foot-9 Cameroonian is starting to feel as though his production's beet somewhat being overlooked by the Raptors.
Shortly after the game, ESPN's Tim Bontemps shared a tweet of Pascal's comments regarding his current situation in Toronto:
Pascal Siakam on being one of the few constants in Toronto’s lineup all season long: “I feel like I need a raise.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 15, 2019
Siakam wasn't wrong when he said that he's one of the team's few constants. He's currently played the most games between he and his teammates with 67, and he's tied with Danny Green for the most games started at 66.
Furthermore, the third-year big man has the best field goal percentage amongst all Raptors players at 54.9 percent, He's also seen significant upticks in his numbers across the board, soaring from 7.3 points per game last season to 16.4 this season, as well as from 4.5 to 7.0 rebounds per game year-on-year.
Although Siakam could've phrased his request for a raise in a more professional manner, he does deserve a lot more credit for his play. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri is known to be a fair and just GM during his impressive stint in Toronto, so Siakam's voice will not go unnoticed and likely be rewarded for his contributions sooner than not.
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