Strong shooting by Siakam, Ibaka add another layer to Raptors’ offence

The trip marked the first time in franchise history the Raptors have gone undefeated out west.

It also put Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka squarely onto the scouting reports of opposing teams that already had their hands full trying to find ways to stop Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard.

“That’s the real beauty of it, because you know they’re game-planning for Kyle and Kawhi, and I’m not sure people game-planned for Serge much when he was playing (power forward), but now you can see they’re planning for him rolling and playing inside.

“The adjustments, you make them as you see teams doing other things. Now there is Pascal. It’s tough to game-plan for a whole bunch of people, but that’s what we’re trying to get to … they have to do it or else those guys will continue to hurt them, but it will open up more things for Kyle and Kawhi again.”

Siakam is second in the league in two-point percentage at 71.3 per cent behind Utah’s Rudy Gobert. Ibaka, who’s playing better than he has at any time in Toronto, is fourth (66.4).

Ibaka has been thriving since Nurse moved the Congolese big man back to centre this season. On his career-best scoring night (34 points) last week against the L.A. Lakers, Ibaka was like a freight train on a straight track to the rim, often filling the lane off fast breaks.

Ibaka’s shot attempts near the rim are up significantly, almost double the 29.6 per cent he shot from inside last season.

“You have to choose which one you do the best,” he said, on points in the paint versus three-point shooting. “Not everybody can do everything at a high level. So you choose the one you think can help your game. Myself, sometimes I like to get this one in the paint early to get myself confidence to keep going on. I’m not gonna try to force to look for threes, but if the three is open, I’m gonna shoot it.”

While it’s still early, signs are pointing to a breakout season for Siakam. He’s always been a big boost of energy for the Raptors, but now has added some eye-popping ball movement to his repertoire.

Lowry, meanwhile, leads the league in assists with 11.3 per game, and Leonard is averaging 26 points a night with admittedly much of the Raptors’ offence still to learn, making for a multi-headed nightmare for opposing teams.

The Raptors, Siakam said, definitely aren’t resting on their laurels.

“There is always room for improvement,” said the wiry 24-year-old from Cameroon. “We’ve played some decent basketball and we’re winning games and more importantly I think we can always get better.

“On defence I don’t think we’ve reached our potential or what we can do just with the length that we have and the guys on the team. And offence, we’re still figuring everything out. Kawhi was out for a couple of games, so him coming back and get with him and see his spots and all of that. We still have a long way to go.”

The Raptors are home for the next three games. The New York Knicks arrive Saturday with a 4-8 record (11th in the East). The New Orleans Pelicans are in town on Monday. And former Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was fired after the team failed to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season’s playoffs, brings his Detroit Pistons to Toronto on Wednesday.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Strong shooting by Siakam, Ibaka add another layer to Raptors’ offence

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