BROOKLYN — There are different approaches to the pursuit of individual glory in a team sport.
Some are all about the process, as the cliché goes. Focus on the details, the outcomes will take care of themselves.
Others are motivated about that shiny brass ring, making that big leap and letting the world know about it.
It’s all about speaking things into existence, would be the theory.
A couple of weeks ago D’Angelo Russell, the Brooklyn Nets’ rapidly improving point guard, was asked about where he stood with regard to his chances of winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
"I don’t care who else is on that list,” he told SBNation in early March. “I’m winning it, believe it."
Hey, he might. And there’s no shame in being vocal about your ambitions.
But he might not.
His main competition for the award was on the floor Wednesday night at Barclay’s Center wearing No.43 for the Toronto Raptors.
As he walked out to the floor for warmups, Pascal Siakam paused when asked about his thoughts about being in position to win a major post-season award.
He chose to talk about process.
“To be honest, I’m not a personal accolades type guy,” Siakam said, adjusting his trademark headband. “I’m not worried about it. I don’t think about it. If it happens, great, because it will represent who I am as a person and my journey and if you understand where I come from that will just be a confirmation of what I’m about: ‘this is you, you’ve gotten better every year and you’ve proved that.’ That’s the only thing.”
For the Raptors this season, it’s been a very big thing. It was big again Wednesday night. To no one’s surprise, Toronto head coach Nick Nurse said he would vote for Siakam if he had a vote (he doesn’t; full disclosure, I am a voter on the NBA awards panel). As the game unfolded against the Nets, Siakam showed why his coach has his back.
"He’s really hard to guard, right? Especially if he has any kind of perimeter game going. Now, it seems like when his feet are set he gets rid of them pretty quickly and takes them like he means them, so if you’re going to disregard that he’s probably going to make three [triples] on you at least. He’s hard to guard because he’s so elusive moving one way and another way and he puts his back on you and he spins one way or the other, so there’s a lot of problems he presents."
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Those looking at the Raptors meeting with the Nets on Wednesday night as a possible showdown between two of the leading candidates for the award, couldn’t possibly have come to any firm conclusions, but each candidate took turns proving their ability to impact a game and their team.
The Raptors won 115-105 and led comfortably for most of the game, but had to fend off the Nets who had cut a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead to five with 6:41 to play. It was fitting that Siakam ended the Nets surge with a corner triple – perhaps the single biggest addition to his arsenal in his breakout season. Another three by Serge Ibaka – who was a perfect 5-of-5 from deep while adding 23 points and 12 rebounds in his third strong game coming off the bench behind Marc Gasol – helped the Raptors cause and a 26-footer by Kyle Lowry off an Ibaka offensive rebound gave Toronto the breathing room they needed against a Nets team desperate to nail down their first playoff berth in six seasons.
Siakam’s best stretch came after halftime when he scored nine quick points – three hoops in the paint and a triple – in the space of just over three minutes while also finding Gasol for an open three as the Raptors opened their first 12-point lead, 71-59. He stripped Nets forward DeMarre Carroll at centre court. He drove deep into the paint and spun to find Ibaka for a wide-open three. He sprinted the floor and stopped the Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie at the rim. In all, he scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting while assisting on a pair of threes in the third on his way to a typically impressive line as his 28 points led all scorers. He also chipped in 10 rebounds and five assists while going 3-of-7 from deep.
Russell made his share of noise too. A pair of contested threes in the final two minutes kept the game within three possessions, but it wasn’t enough to get the Nets all the way back. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but was stuck with the "L" as the Nets dropped to 39-40.
"He almost got the game back for them, made a couple of tough shots out there in the fourth quarter," said Siakam. "But he’s a real good player and he makes those type of shots … we have to do a better job, but they were from far, it was pretty impressive."
The win improved the Raptors’ record to 56-23 and allowed them to win the season series against Brooklyn, which is a potential first-round playoff opponent, 3-1. The Nets are in seventh by virtue of a tie-breaker over Orlando, which is also 39-40.
Siakam has his share of boosters and showed why. Beyond averaging 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists — all of his numbers are nearly double that of a season ago – it’s his overall game that gets opponents’ attention. Even Nets coach Kenny Atkinson could only gush about what the 25-year-old has done in his third NBA season, his second as a regular rotation player and his first as a starter (his place-holding starts during his rookie season notwithstanding).
“It’s changes because he’s shooting the ball better,” said Atkinson. “At first, you could ignore his shot, but now you have to respect him from three and that changes things. You still have to respect his drive but his [shooting] is getting better and better and he’s that X-factor type matchup that we have to control. He’s definitely an X-factor.”
A big element of Siakam’s ability to change a game or conceivably a playoff series will be his three-point shooting. Siakam came into the evening shooting a respectable 35.5 per cent on triples and an impressive 40.7 per cent on corner threes. Given the Raptors other weapons, it makes sense that teams will still test Siakam at that distance, particularly the Nets who play a liberal amount of zone.
In the early going Wednesday, Siakam couldn’t find the range even as the Nets were daring him to shoot. But less significant than him missing all three of his first-half attempts, was that he kept looking for them. Not taking an open three is often worse than not taking one as the shot clock winding down almost guarantees that the next shot won’t be as good an opportunity.
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His shooting struggles last season –- he shot 22 per cent from three — steeled him against getting too caught up in a couple of misses or makes.
"I learned last year. I missed [for] a whole month," he said. "So I don’t think I’m phased by that, I just continue to play my game and trust my work.
Meanwhile, Russell wasn’t exactly tearing things up early, although his 19-point fourth quarter almost made up for it. He didn’t hit his first shot – a triple – until there were three minutes left in the first half. The knock on him is he can be streaky and since he doesn’t get to the foul line much – he didn’t attempt a free throw against Toronto – he can live and die with his jumper. Still he’s had a great year improving his scoring average, shooting percentages and assist totals, even controlling for a jump in minutes. A 22-year-old averaging 21 points and seven assists as the lead guard on a playoff team is difficult to ignore.
But his coach wants more as the playoffs round into view. More defence, more steadiness.
“It’s reading each game. Each game is a different puzzle. Just understanding what we needed that night, especially with what the defence is giving him. Some nights it’s going to be 20 assists and 12 points, other nights we’re going to need 35 points and four assists,” said Atkinson. “Finding that balance and understanding how each game changes, that’s a big step. I think he’s improved tremendously there.”
Has he improved enough to be recognized as Most Improved by the NBA? That will be determined in the coming days as the votes are tallied, but Siakam has chosen to let his play do the talking and it was speaking loud and clear again in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
There was nothing Russell could say or do about that.
