Pascal Siakam Does Not Receive All-Star Nod

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam did not earn a spot in the NBA's All-Star game

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pascal Siakam may be playing at an All-Star level these days, but the Toronto Raptors forward will not be heading to Cleveland for All-Star game festivities later this month.

It came down to playing time and that offseason shoulder surgery for Siakam who missed the first 10 games of the season and then got off to a slow start when he did return. 

When he came back off that injury for the first eight or 10 or 12 games, it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t much fun for anybody, for him or for us," Nurse said Thursday.

But since then, Siakam has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. He's averaged 21.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game since mid-November and has seen his playmaking and defense take massive steps forward from last season. 

The problem, as Nurse pointed out pre-game, is the high-end depth in the Eastern Conference. It's not just Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and DeMar DeRozan who headline the East's frontcourt spots, but there's plenty more talent after that.

“I found that we got to 12 possible people really quickly with five already in there and you had seven to go," said Nurse who was among the Eastern Conference coaches voting for the conference's All-Star reserves. "It fills up pretty quick."

It's still possible Siakam makes the All-Star game as a replacement player if Durant cannot play or someone else opts out of the game before Feb. 20. Those decisions are made by commissioner Adam Silver and usually aren't based on positional criteria.

Even without All-Star game honors, Siakam is still putting up numbers that should have him in the conversation for a spot on an All-NBA team when the season wraps up. He won't top Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James Jimmy Butler, or DeMar DeRozan, but he'll be in the mix for a spot on the third team if he continues to perform at the level he has recently.

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