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Tim BontempsESPN
The Toronto Raptors placed All-Star striker Pascal Siakam in the 100-83 victory Thursday night against the New York Knicks in Tampa, Florida.
“It was a matter of internal discipline,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse, after his team won the first game of the season. “That is the decision we have made. We will just keep it that way.”
When asked what message he expected the Siakam bank to send to the team, the nurse said: “Just a certain way we want to do things. Everyone has to be part of it. It’s as simple as that.”
Although Nurse did not elaborate on what led to the decision to suspend Siakam, the 26-year-old was fouled in Tuesday’s 100-93 loss to the 76ers – Toronto’s third straight loss at the start of the season, all of which came after the Raptors maintained a double-digit lead – with 25.6 seconds to go, and he immediately left the court and entered the locker room at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Siakam is expected to return for Toronto’s next game, which will be on Saturday in New Orleans, against Pelicans. A source told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that Siakam will not be fined.
Raptors owner Fred VanVleet said the decision to place Siakam on the bench was communicated to the team on Thursday morning.
“This is something that will not last long,” said VanVleet. “It is done and finished. [Pascal] it was great. He handled it very well. He was a great energy for us on the bench tonight, although he was not played. I can’t wait to bring you back. “
It’s been a rough start to the season for Siakam, right after he admitted he wasn’t in the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In the first three games of this season, Siakam collected 39.3% of the total and is committing 3.7 spins per game.
On Thursday, Toronto managed to pull away in the second half after drawing at halftime, with Norman Powell – who replaced Siakam in the starting lineup – scoring 17 points and combining with four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block while ends a game-high plus-28 in 34 minutes.
“The next man,” said Powell, when asked what his thought process was when he was told he was starting in Siakam’s place. “Everything we deal with as a team is always internal, so we deal with it. We understand what happened and why, but we don’t insist on that. We focused on the game, everyone taking advantage of this opportunity by being the next man going there, executing the game plan and doing whatever it takes to get the first win. And when Pascal comes back, we still have to leave with that energy, no matter what the role and how many minutes you play. That energy that we play with tonight has to be consistent going forward. “