Pacers Report Cards: Grading every Pacers player's overall playoff performance
By Mueez Azfar
Pascal Siakam
First Round Stats: 6 Games, 37.8 MPG, 22.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 0.5 TOV, 2.7 FPG 54.7/27.3/46.2 Splits on 57.1% TS
Second Round Stats: 7 Games, 32.4 MPG, 20 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 1.1 TOV, 3 FPG 52.8/40/71.4 Splits on 58.2% TS
Conference Finals Stats: 4 Games, 37.2 MPG, 23.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2 TOV, 2.8 FPG 55.3/20/77.8 Splits on 58.2% TS
Overall Stats: 17 Games, 35.5 MPG, 21.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 1.1 TOV, 2.8 FPG 54.1/29.8/61.9 Splits on 57.8% TS
Of all the Pacers heading to the 2024 playoffs, Pascal Siakam may have had the most to prove going in. At first glance, this seems like an odd take, as Siakam already won an NBA championship with the Raptors and had experience taking a team far into the playoffs as the main option.
This time, however, Siakam was playing for more than just bragging rights, he was playing for a payday. When the Pacers traded for Siakam in January, the hope was that he could bring some much-needed veteran leadership to the team as well as some legitimate playoff experience, having won a championship as one of the best players on the team earlier in his career.
This experience showed in the first two playoff games against Milwaukee, where Siakam averaged over 30 points and looked like the most qualified Pacer on the floor the entire time. While his 36.5 average over the first two games eventually declined as he struggled for the next three games, he eventually picked it up in Game 6 to score 19 points on 60% shooting to help Indiana win the series.
One major issue with Siakam in the early stages of the playoffs, and perhaps his biggest flaw as a player, was his free throw shooting. After shooting a putrid 46% in the first round, Siakam started the Knicks series shooting 2/6 in his first two games, including two crucial misses at the end of Game 2 that played a huge part in costing Indiana the game and going down 2-0.
In the first eight games of the playoffs, Siakam shot less than 44% from the free throw line, which is a drastically low number even for his standards. Thankfully, Siakam picked up his play in Game 3 to the tune of 26 points on 7/9 shooting and finished off the series strong with 20 points on 8/15 shooting in New York.
The Boston series was interesting for Siakam. Playing the most minutes of the playoff run in Games 1 and 4, Siakam certainly delivered on expectations, scoring 24 points on 12/23 shooting and grabbing 12 rebounds. In Game 2, Siakam outperformed his previous game with 28 points in only 31 minutes before being taken out early in the fourth quarter for the rest of the game. As for the final two games, despite scoring 22 and 19 in Games 3 and 4, respectively, Siakam's efforts were not enough as Indiana was swept by Boston.
Sweep or not, this series basically cemented that Pascal Siakam is worth the hefty incoming price tag. He was brought to Indiana to be a veteran leader and go-to guy during tough stretches, and that was exactly what he did in his first 17 playoff games as a Pacer. Poor free-throw shooting and all, this is a move Indiana will not regret anytime soon since they are looking to re-sign Siakam long-term the first chance they get.