Pascal Siakam – Toronto Raptors
After losing Kyle Lowry in the offseason, nobody really knows what to expect from the Toronto Raptors this season. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam still remain the leaders of this team and they do have a lot of other versatile, athletic, and young players around them, but Siakam is out to begin the season and will be out for the foreseeable future after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.
The 2019-20 All-Star underwent shoulder surgery during the first week of June to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and he has been doing very well in his rehab process, but he is still a few weeks out from returning to 5-on-5 action.
In his absence, rookie Scottie Barnes and newly acquired Precious Achiuwa are expected to play big roles for Toronto, but this team needs Pascal Siakam in order to contend for a playoff spot again.
Last season, the Raptors finished with a 27-45 record and they ended up missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season when they went 34-48. While the Raptors as an organization have not really given any further updates on the status of Pascal Siakam, they do seem optimistic about the fact that he will be ready to go sometime in mid-November.
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Originally, it was said that this injury would take approximately five months to heal, which would put Pascal Siakam on a timetable of getting ready to play sometime around Thanksgiving.
He is out for their season-opener and will likely miss the first month of the season, but Pascal Siakam is definitely a name to monitor this season for several reasons. Not only is he going to be key for this team to make it back to the playoffs, but Toronto could wind up trading the All-Star forward should they begin to fall towards the bottom of the standings.
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Expectations for the Toronto Raptors are all over the place right now and while they definitely have the talent to be able to claim a playoff spot again, the Eastern Conference is much better than it was last season. The Raptors are going to have their work cut out for them to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference.
