Pascal Siakam: ‘I don’t know why Dragic is getting booed’

Pascal Siakam fouled out of the Raptors’ win over the Nets on Tuesday, but he was happy to see some of the team’s younger players close out the victory. He also discussed the crowd booing Goran Dragic, how nice it was to see fans and staff back in Scotiabank Arena, and how he’s taken on a bigger leadership role this season.

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Video Transcript

- So was it nice to have [INAUDIBLE]?

PASCAL SIAKAM: And these are post questions, boy?

[LAUGHTER]

- Come on, Pascal.

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, man, yeah. I don't know what was going on. I don't know why Goran was getting booed. I mean, I wasn't complaining. But I'm just saying, like, I wasn't expecting that.

- Seriously, was it nice to have the--

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, no, no, it felt good. It was weird. I was coming out to shoot, and I'm like, I haven't seen that many staff in so long, you know what I mean? It was just weird to see them. I'm like, the amount of staff that I saw, I felt like that was the whole arena some of those games that we had.

Good, man, seeing some familiar faces out there. And I'm sure the fans were excited. We heard them. And it feels good, man. It feels great to have everyone back.

- When you played ill or sick or whatever it was the first two nights coming out-- was it three games that you were good for it?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Right, right, right, right, right.

- Was it all three?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah. I think at the end of the day, yeah, I was-- I don't know what that was. I thought I had COVID again. But let's just not even get into all that.

But, yeah, it's definitely feeling-- but at the end of the day, it is what it is. I always listen to my man, Les Brown. He said, 80% people don't care. Don't go around telling everybody what you're going through. 80% don't care. 20% is glad it's you. So suck it up and get over it. That's my mindset.

- Is this the first night or first game, though, that you felt sort of, like--

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, I'm good, man. I'm good. I'm going to get over it. I'm going to get through it. And that's always something about me. I'm always going to get through it. And I'm going to continue to fight. And I'm sure that things will go back to where they're supposed to be at. And that's part of life in general.

Man, who's-- hey, man, close the door. What's going on over there? We got interviews on this side, man.

PASCAL SIAKAM: Huh?

- [INAUDIBLE]

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, man. Ah--

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah, I don't like it that much. That was my frustration. [LAUGHS]

- We were both [INAUDIBLE].

- Were you excited to see everybody, Pascal?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, that's good, man. No, no problem. No problem. No problem. I don't know, I forgot what the question was. But let's roll with it.

- How tough is it to have to play 10, 11 minutes with five fouls? What's the biggest challenge with--

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, I think the biggest challenge is just try not to foul. I don't know, I don't know what you need to do at that point, especially with guys like that, and we switch a lot, and, yeah, guys that are quick that want to shoot 3's, and you try to crowd them. And I don't know, there's a lot of great lines, and I'm not even going to get into that. It's not my job. I try to stay away from other people's job, because I feel like my job is hard enough. So I just stay on my job, whatever I have to do I try my best, but, hey, it is what it is.

- How frustrated with Malachi sort of handling the pressure of the moment in the last few minutes?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, no, I'm proud of him. I'm proud of Malachi. I think, again, he's been going through a lot. And I always tell him, I'll be talking to him, and sometimes I text him randomly. I'm probably sure he's surprised. Like why is Pascal texting me?

But now it's just like, OK, this is the NBA, man, and it's tough. We all go through tough times. And I'm just happy that he's given an opportunity, and he's taken advantage of it. He's been playing so well on both ends of the floor, contributing to the game, making tough shots. Off of the floor is great. And I think he's making good decisions. And we're going to need that from him. And I just wanted to keep it going, keep it going. I'm proud of him.

- Yours was kind of the opposite, right? I mean, you started all those games in your rookie year, and then you sort of--

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah.

- --hit that period where you're like, am I ever going to see the floor again?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, yeah. No, I know what they go through. It's funny. I was talking with Justin yesterday, and I was telling him, I was like, man, my first year, I started I don't know how many games, and then I started playing six minutes each quarter, and then I went to the G League for like two months. So it was crazy, just like a roller coaster of emotions, and being sick. I went from the Ritz-Carlton to-- yeah, I don't know, I don't know what hotel. I don't want to name-drop any hotel right now. [LAUGHS]

But, yeah, it was tough, man. And those can be tough mentally to go through as a young player. And you got to stay strong. That's part of the NBA. And I think only the strong survive. There's a lot of people that go through that, and they're not strong enough mentally to keep it going, and continue to work, and wait for the opportunities. And I think that everyone's going to get their chance. And I'm glad that Malachi's getting his right now.

- I think you mentioned at training camp or pre-season how you wanted to take on a bigger leadership role. I think you mentioned, memory serves, that you got text messages from the veterans, you know, Kyle and DeMar when you were younger-- is that a new thing for you? Is that something you're trying to do, is message those guys and stay in touch?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah. I think, again, without overcrowding-- because I'm one of those guys that don't-- not that I appreciate it. But it's when a lot of things are going on and people are just bombarding you with text, it's a little too much. So I try to pick my spots and to help as much as I can. Like, whatever little knowledge that I have that I feel like they can benefit from. That's what I try to do.

Yeah, I'll just randomly just-- you know, like, a little-- it's OK type of thing. I think there's a lot of, like, people telling you what to do. But sometimes, you just need some people that's just there to encourage you, right? No matter how bad it is or no matter the tough part is, and that's something that I try to do. And I don't know. I'm getting better.

- Going back to the crowd, I know a lot of players say that they don't really notice it that much, usually. And that makes sense, considering all the things you guys have to focus on out there. But considering what it's been like in this building in the last two months, you feel it more--

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah. It's hard not to notice it. I mean, you can hear a pin drop. We played before, you know what I mean? And now you can hear the-- you can feel it. It's day and night.

- [AUDIO OUT]

PASCAL SIAKAM: They what?

- They're doing like that, because--

PASCAL SIAKAM: I mean, I don't know. Yeah. I don't think so. I don't think so. I was surprised. I don't know I like Goran, so I don't know what's going on. Yeah. [LAUGHING] That's it. I don't know what happened, man.

- Pascal. Obviously, it sucks to follow, but to see those young guys on the fourth-- no friends, no OG, you're not there to see them figure it out and get it done-- what was that like?

PASCAL SIAKAM: No, it's great. Scottie, Gary, Todd-- he's a vet out there-- And I think they did a great job, just handling the game. They got some good stops, and also, we know Gary made his free throws. Just controlled the game, and just ended it in a great way. We got the win, so I'm super proud of him, and happy.

- Just to go back to Precious Achiuwa, you know, early in the season, it seemed like he was going through those growing pains and trying to figure out not to do too much, and that sort of thing. But he seemed to always grow out of it, right? I remember even you, the three point shots, and there were times where you were struggling. You were like, hey, I'm gonna keep shooting it. It's going to come. Seeing that with Precious now, what does it say about him to have that confidence?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah. I think you just got to keep it. I think one of the things I always saw in Precious is just keep it simple. The game, I feel like, is so easy for a lot of people if you play with us. Because the ball is moving, you're going to get your opportunity. Make decisions. As soon as you get it, if you have a drive opportunity, drive it. You want to shoot it? Shoot it. And if you think about it too much, pass it.

I think that's kind of like what it is. And I think that he's been doing that well, just playing on both sides of the floor with a lot of energy, running, I think that's his advantage-- just being fast, running, dunking, and on both sides of the floor, switching. And I think that if he keeps it simple and then just does those things, he will be good. He'll be all right, and I think that he's going to help us a lot.

- We have a couple of questions for you online. Two in English, and then one in French. Go ahead, Takeshi.

PASCAL SIAKAM: You all miss me, it sounds. There's a lot of questions going on over there.

TAKESHI SHIBATA: Hello, Pascal. My name is Takeshi Shibata. I'm from Tokyo, Japan. Nice to see you.

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yes, sir. My man?

TAKESHI SHIBATA: My question is about Yuta Watanabe.

PASCAL SIAKAM: Of course. I know, I know.

[LAUGHTER]

TAKESHI SHIBATA: And my question is about--

PASCAL SIAKAM: You don't care about me, bro. What do you want to know about Yuta, my guy?

TAKESHI SHIBATA: Yeah. So his awesome dunk last night, the study just graded 8 in a 10-point scale. So what's your grade on his dunk last night?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, his dunk?

TAKESHI SHIBATA: Yeah.

PASCAL SIAKAM: 20 out of 10. No, it was--

TAKESHI SHIBATA: 20 out of 10?

PASCAL SIAKAM: --good. It was awesome. I mean, did you see my reaction? I was up there, man. Yeah. Yuta-- I think somebody said it's going to be all over Japan, and I hope it is. Yeah, that was tough.

TAKESHI SHIBATA: OK. And another one is--

PASCAL SIAKAM: (AMUSED) He said OK.

TAKESHI SHIBATA: [CHUCKLES] Obviously, he was struggling for a month or so. So did you say any encouragement for him or any advice or that kind of thing?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah. Yuta is great, man. I love Yuta. And I always poke at him every second that I get. Just keep your spirit up. And again, it's the NBA. I feel like I keep repeating myself, but we're all going to get an opportunity at some point. Yuta is a great person, he's a great guy to be around, and he'd get his work done every single day. And I think that guys like that always get an opportunity, and I'm sure that he's going to run with it when it comes.

Just stay with it, and your opportunity is coming.

TAKESHI SHIBATA: OK. Thank you so much. Congratulations on the great game. Thank you.

- Thanks, Takeshi. Go ahead, Oren.

- Hey, Pascal. Just to follow up on the vex question about the young players who closed out this game-- Malachi, Scottie, and Precious-- how encouraged are you with the development of those players over the course of this season? As you guys look to rebuild a championship team here, how encouraging has that been?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Oh, no. It's great. It's great. I think that, again, those guys having that experience is super important. Being in those games, late games, you have to make decisions. You can't make mistakes. And every mistake counts. So it's definitely an experience that they are going to carry through their the years. And hopefully, it's going to help us, as a team.

- And just overall, the young players on this team, how much better have you seen them get, from the start of the season to now?

PASCAL SIAKAM: I think we're learning. I think we're learning. And again, there was a lot of losses and a lot of things that we had to go through. But I think every single day, one thing that-- they stay with it, they work, and they want to get better. So once you have that attitude, I think anything is possible.

- Thank you.