The lethal Fred VanVleet-Pascal Siakam PnR

In the first edition of Spotlight, Samson Folk breaks down why the Raptors' duo of Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet form one of the trickiest pick-and-roll combinations in the NBA and how they've been giving defences fits all season.

Video Transcript

- [INAUDIBLE] logo! Pascal!

- Hello!

- Oh, what a move!

- Right here, droppin' the dime! Spicy P!

SAMSON FOLK: The Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet pick and roll is a perfect weapon to complement their elite skills. There are different variations of it, but it's designed mostly to garner a mismatch or driving lane for Siakam or an open jumper for VanVleet. This two-man action is often the Raptors' go-to option because of how it disadvantages defenses. And they've been giving teams headaches with it for years already.

- The exact same spot, VanVleet. Boy, he continues to stroke it.

SAMSON FOLK: You can see them use it here with the ghosted screen in an empty side to generate a 3 for Fred way back in the bubble days. And we can even stretch back farther to opening night in 2019, which was the first game for many people where it looked like they were a star duo in the making, as they each scored 34 points. Those advantages align perfectly with what the Raptors like to do on offense.

While the Raptors profile as a small team in the frontcourt, they're jumbo-sized in the middle. And that means that they get a lot of mismatches on offense. They've leaned into that advantage a lot by isolating and posting up a lot with Pascal, OG, and Scottie. They're still a low frequency pick and roll team relative to the league, but they've started to invite more looks with their two best players.

With Fred initiating, his extended range from 3 makes any screening scenario a headache for teams to defend. We saw the Raptors close out the Clippers by spamming the Fred-Pascal pick and roll, with the Clippers forfeiting switches onto Fred repeatedly and Siakam isolating against Reggie Jackson for buckets. When they finally put Terance Mann on VanVleet instead to create a more favorable switch against Siakam, he just slipped the screen into space, and Fred hit him with a pass for a dunk. When the Clippers fully adjusted, the Raptors put Siakam on ball, had Fred ghost a screen, and then hit the open 3.

The same diet of looks led them to a victory against the Bucks. They blitzed Fred on ball. He makes the pass, and Siakam hits the 3. Then Giannis and George Hill switch the action, fearing an open jumper for Fred or a driving lane for Siakam. And he goes to work on the mismatch.

- Oh! Oh my!

- Siakam, a massive night.

- Hey, that's how you teach it.

SAMSON FOLK: The regular rules and advantages of the pick and roll still apply. A screen creates separation for a ball handler. The player left defending has to try and split the difference between the two offensive players, and the rest of the defense has to choose between a combination of weak side zones, tags, and rotations to try and mitigate those advantages.

- Looking at right here, going to the basket. Pascal Siakam drawing a foul, going to his left hand. Oh, boy.

- And one!

SAMSON FOLK: With Siakam shooting 70% at the rim, 44% overall in the mid-range, the idea of giving him a lane to the rim or a backtracking defender isn't ideal whatsoever. If a team wants to switch that action, they're more than likely putting a guard in a position where they have to guard Siakam in space-- not ideal. So teams often try to hedge and recover.

And this is where VanVleet's remarkable shooting skill stands out. 47% on catch-and-shoot 3's is nearly a cheat code. When VanVleet is able to slide into open space when teams [? opt ?] to contain the ball, Siakam makes the right read as a passer.

The Raptors have been a team that loves the short roll for some time now. And Siakam's passing chops, mid-range touch, and comfortability in tight spaces makes him a great release valve in that space-- just another option available to them. It doesn't even have to be their first option.

They can flow into it, as you see here. The Raptors are running one of their pet plays, horns flex, only Fred ghosts a screen and comes off a pin down to receive the ball. The Raptors flow into a Fred-Pascal pick and roll, find the short roll, and find the dunk.

- Inside to Siakam. Nice pass.

SAMSON FOLK: Known skills usually dictate how a defense is going to respond to something. With a Fred and Pascal team in action, teams are left in a difficult position no matter what they choose. Teams can influence what decision Fred or Pascal make-- open shots, path of least resistance, yada yada, doubling, that kind of stuff.

But more often than not, the Raptors are going to be harvesting good offensive process and results out of it. And that's by far the most important aspect of the play type for the Raptors, or any team for that matter. How many advantages does a certain play type give you? How hard is it to scheme out those advantages for a defense?

The Raptors have an ironclad option with the Siakam and VanVleet pick and roll. If you can avoid the dramatic side of partnerships in the NBA, two-man actions tend to flourish with more time and more reps. Siakam and VanVleet have found their own interpretive dance, and the NBA is having trouble matching steps.

I'm Samson Folk. This is "Spotlight." And thanks for tuning in.

[MUSIC PLAYING]