In the same way that it is in James Harden’s best interests to chuck his way to an MVP award this season (not hating, just saying that 50-burgers is how it’s going to happen for him), it is in Pascal Siakam’s best interests to chuck his way to an MIP award. Look at what D’Angelo Russell, the other MIP candidate, is doing in Brooklyn. He’s chucking. Hard. And it’s working, because that dude is an All-Star and just had a signature game in that huge comeback against the Kings. That’s the kind of game that voters remember.
Siakam’s signature game happened a few weeks ago against the ‘Zards, where he scored 44, but this is also kind of a signature game. National TV, versus the best defensive team in the league, in Giannis-esque fashion (read: almost no jumpers but a lot of crafty paint finishes). But even with all his buckets, he only scored 33. That’s a lot, and it’s really a lot if you didn’t know anything about what he’s doing this year and assumed he was almost the same player last year. But it’s not 44.
So what I’m suggesting is that Siakam take the reins of the offense from Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry. In the short term, that should be easy; Lowry is already injured, and Leonard sits out half the games and doesn’t seem like the guy who would put up much of a fight if you benched him for the other half. Siakam already does a lot of ball-handling and stuff, but it might be time to forget about trying to get his teammates involved. We need points. Lots of points. 40-burgers. 50-burgers. Is a 60-burger out of the question? I don’t think so. Something like that would lock up the MIP Improved Player award for sure.