Three Pacers players who benefit the most from Pascal Siakam returning

3. T.J. McConnell

T.J. McConnell was a great player all year once he found himself back in the rotation. He was always controlling the tempo on offense and making things tough on defenses, even before the Siakam trade. Once Siakam got to Indy, things went to a whole new level.

That's especially true once Carlisle started staggering the rotation so that Siakam would play with the second unit. The numbers really picked up for McConnell in the playoffs when that was happening. He went from averaging just over 10 points per game in the regular season to almost 12 in the postseason.

With Siakam on the floor with him, McConnell isn't the only shot creator on the floor. If things bog down in the half-court, he has someone he can dump it to in order to create a good shot. McConnell was able to be a more effective passer with Siakam out there as well.

Siakam likes playing with both Haliburton and McConnell in separate stints. When he's with McConnell, he gets to be the primary option on offense. When he's with Haliburton, he's able to get more open shots because he has more effective offensive weapons around him.

McConnell is likely going to get an extension at some point this summer. He'll enjoy playing alongside Siakam during those bench minutes and vice versa. He's another player who sure is glad that Siakam decided to continue to make Indianapolis his home.