Pascal Siakam leads the Indiana Pacers with 33.9 minutes per game. Additionally, he has appeared in 45 games this season and has logged 35 minutes or more in 19 of them. Given that this is a bit of a lost season for the Pacers, they absolutely must give him as much rest as possible moving forward and lighten his load as much as possible.
Pascal Siakam is doing everything for the Pacers this season
Following Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear and Myles Turner's offseason departure, a lot of pressure immediately went onto Siakam to help keep the Pacers afloat. And over halfway through the season, he has stepped up in a major way.
This season, the 31-year-old is averaging 23.8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 48% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. He is putting together another All-Star-level campaign and is carrying the Pacers on his back.
Unfortunately for Siakam, his effort hasn't led to much team success for the Pacers. They are currently 11-36 and own the second-worst record in the NBA. Additionally, their 108.8 offensive rating ranks last in the league, and their 117 defensive rating ranks 22nd, according to Basketball-Reference.com
Nobody expected the Pacers to make another deep playoff run this season, but barring some sort of miracle, they're not even going to sniff the postseason at all this year. (Though, to be fair, this might be a good thing at this point).
As it stands, Indiana should just be fine with taking as much pressure off its top stars as possible, and that especially includes Siakam. He is going to be way too important to the team's championship dreams next season, and putting too much wear on him in a lost season is incredibly risky. Plus, reducing Siakam's minutes (or just simply resting him much more) should help them in their hunt for the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.
There isn't a lot going well for the Pacers this season, but they still have a lot to look forward to. Haliburton should be back next season, and Indiana will have a good chance to re-enter the title picture in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
However, in order for the team to make some serious noise in the near future, it will need to be as healthy as possible moving forward. And it may start with taking a lot of pressure off Siakam before it is too late.