Pascal Siakam should be an NBA All-Star

The way Siakam is being defended has worsened his overall shooting percentages this season. Last year, Siakam shot 51.9% from the field, but this year he’s shooting 48.3%. His three-point percentage has dipped from 38.9% to 37.5% and his two-point percentage has dipped from 56.8% to 52.0%. 

Durability should also be considered when making the All-Star case for Siakam. He’s played in 41 of 43 games for the Pacers, with the only two games he missed being due to scheduled rest days on the second night of a back-to-back.

In the two games he did not play in, the team lost 114-83 against the Warriors in November, and 121-78 against Detroit on Saturday. That would be the two lowest-scoring games for the Pacers this season. Indiana was outscored by a combined 74 points in those two games.

Indiana Pacers Rick Carlisle has also been an advocate for Pascal Siakam making the All-Star team. Coach Carlisle had this to say to the media after Siakam’s game-winning shot over the Celtics: 

“It’s so fitting that Pascal has the ball on our last possession, and it’s what ends up being the game-winning shot. He played one of his better games. The stats weren’t spectacular but his level of discipline and patience was. He goes 10-15 in a game that was very much a possession game, really big time. Congratulations to him. Further makes the case for the All-Star game.”Rick Carlisle

Coach Carlisle didn’t stop there with his praise for Siakam to be an All-Star. Coach makes a weekly appearance on local radio every Tuesday, and he told the show this in his interview when being asked if he’s made phone calls to pitch Siakam’s candidacy: 

“Yeah, I don't want to get into it too much. To me, this is one of those situations. And so, you know, I'm trying to talk to as many coaches as possible. And really, I believe he's going to get strong consideration. I don't know all the numbers in terms of guys that qualify and don't qualify. I know there's a minimum number of games and things like that. But he's been great, you know, and this is his third game winner.” Rick Carlilse

It is rare to see a coach make calls around the league to get his player to an All-Star game, especially when the team is 10-33. Usually, you don’t see teams that have a bottom-three record in the league get a player voted into the All-Star game, but as Carlisle said, this is a rare situation.

Carlisle isn’t asking for Siakam to be voted in as a starter either. He is simply advocating that he be one of twelve players voted in from the East. 

Here are the locks I’d have in place for the East:  Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Jalen Duren, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donavon Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, and Scottie Barnes.  

That leaves 3 spots available for players like: Pascal Siakam, Michael Porter Jr., Desmond Bane, Norman Powell, Bam Adebayo, and Karl Anthony-Towns. 

It will be a tight race, but I think for the players I don’t view as locks, Siakam, Powell, and Bane would be my choices. Porter Jr. would be my last cut, then Towns, then Bam. It’s a tough choice for the coaches, as so many of these players are having great years, but if you take away team success and focus solely on the type of season each player is having individually, the case for Siakam skyrockets.