The Toronto Raptors sent bench All-Star winger Pascal Siakam in Thursday night’s 100-83 victory over the New York Knicks in Tampa, Florida.
“It was a matter of discipline for an internal matter,” the Raptors coach said. Nick Nurse, After his team won its first game of the season. “That’s the decision we made. We’re just going to keep it that way.”
When asked what message he hoped to send to the team, Nurse said, “Only in a way do we want to do things. Everyone has to be a part of that. It’s as simple as that.”
While Nurse did not go into detail about what led to the decision to place Siakam on the bench, the 26-year-old winger committed a foul in Tuesday’s 100-93 loss to the 76ers, the Toronto’s third straight loss to open the season, which came after the Raptors held a double-digit lead, with 25.6 seconds to go, and immediately left the court and entered the visiting locker room inside the Wells Fargo Center of Philadelphia.
Siakam is expected to return for Toronto’s next game, which is Saturday in New Orleans against the Pelicans. A source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Siakam will not be fined.
Raptors baseman Fred VanVleet said the decision to place Siakam on the bench was communicated to the team at the shooting practice Thursday morning.
“This is something that won’t stay,” VanVleet said. “It ‘s done and finished. [Pascal] it was great. He handled it very well. It was a great energy for us on the bench tonight even though I hadn’t played there. I can’t wait for him to come back. “
It’s been a tough start to the season for Siakam, right after he admitted he wasn’t inside the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In the first three games of this season, Siakam shoots 39.3% overall and is committing 3.7 ball losses per game.
On Thursday, Toronto were able to pull away in the second half after being tied in the meantime, with Norman Powell replacing Siakam in the starting eleven, scoring 17 points to accompany four rebounds, two steals, one assist. and a block while finishing a game-plus-28 in 34 minutes.
“The next man,” Powell said, when asked what his thought process was when he was told he was starting instead of Siakam. “Everything we face as a team is always internal, so we take care of that. We understand what happened and why, but we don’t insist on that. We focus on the game, all taking this opportunity being the next man to go run the game plan and do whatever it takes to get that first win, and when Pascal comes back, we still have to come out with that energy, no matter what role you play and how many minutes you play. playing tonight has to be consistent in the future. “