Pascal Siakam on 'Pascalifornia' nickname

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam offers his thoughts on the trending 'Pascalifornia' nickname, how he's reading defences better and the growing consistency with his 3-point shot. Follow Yahoo Sports Canada for all your Raptors coverage.

Video Transcript

- saying, sometime you [INAUDIBLE] 3 and 3's a good finish to a road trip. But you guys went 5 and 1 and looked really good doing it. What do you think think that says about your team?

PASCAL SIAKAM: We're just resilient. We just want to fight every single night, no matter what's happening, you know, the odds against us, or whatever the case might be. We got one man down or two men. Just continue to play, fight through, play together as a team, and try to get a win. So, I think we did a great. Job This road trip just-- staying together, following the game plan, and no matter, you know, the runs, or whatever the case might be, we just stay together.

- [INAUDIBLE] and Nick both used the word composure about your game and how it's evolved, because you seem more composed on offense. Is it slower for you? Is the decision making easier for you at that point?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Um, I think the more you get in situations, I think, for me, the better I get. And I think that's always something that, you know, with me starting basketball late and just continue to learn as I grow as a basketball player, it's just, I'm picking up stuff. And the more I see defenses, you know, the better I get.

And I also try to work on just being composed, like you said, and just knowing where I want to go and kind of like imposing my will and get into whatever spot I want to get to. And I think that that's what the most special players do. So I try to learn that and do that, when I can.

- Nick was saying earlier that this team, despite being pretty young, isn't very emotional, doesn't get too up or two down. He gave credit to Fred for that. And he said, you've been better at that, too. Do you see that sort of team trait, as well as Nick does?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, I think so. And I think, again, for me, personally, I know that's something that I learned. I know we talked about it a lot. And I be talking about it. And it's just knowing all the waves that I've been through, as a person and as a player, just understanding that this film ends, most of the time.

And you just got to stick with it, continue to keep your head down, continue to work hard. And again, in a game, there's gonna be runs. So, just to. stay together, stay continue-- It's just consistent with what we do. And we always believe that we can win.

- Fred was just saying how important communication with each other is, sort of to keep that point, but also, just to keep a healthy locker room. And he said, sometimes he speaks his mind. And not everybody likes what he has to hear. Why is that important for a team? And why can he do that?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Because it's Fred. Yeah, he has that character. He can do those things. And I think that that's what kind of makes us work, cause it's like-- I mean, I'm not like that. There's certain things that I feel like I just keep to myself sometimes. But he was saying-- say those things. And I think that dynamic works.

We can't have too many people doing that. So we have [INAUDIBLE] that one person that we know that's going to call you out. And then, it's gonna be me that's going to be out there. And then, I'm going to give you my input, but also, try to just keep you up. And I think that, really, it's important to have that dynamic. .

- Thanks, Pascal.

- OK, Phil, over to you.

- Thanks, JQ. If we could please keep it to one question per person, it would be appreciated. We'll start with Aaron.

PASCAL SIAKAM: What's up, Phil, man? I miss you, bruh.

- How are you?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Good, man.

[LAUGHTER]

- Didn't sound like he cared.

- He's-- it's late.

- It's tired-- I'm tired here.

PASCAL SIAKAM: I know, you look tired, bro.

[LAUGHTER]

- Hey, Pascal, congrats on the win. Other than the results of your 3-point shot, what's the biggest difference from now, the recent past couple games, and to where you were the past, maybe, two years?

I think, for me, it's just continuing to work on that. And then one thing that I talked to coach about is just being ready, being more ready to shoot 3s. and. i feel like I haven't even been shooting 3s. I looked at how many 3s I shoot per game. I just feel like I don't get enough up, and then, also, just being ready, down and ready.

And I think that once you have that and just the confidence, also, everything feels like it's going in. So I just want to keep taking good shots and be ready to take him, and also, just knowing that I'm gonna try to shoot at least five to six 3s a game. That's kind of my mindset.

- Thanks, Pascal.

- Thanks, Aaron. We'll go to Adam.

- Hey, Pascal. On this road trip, you've been given a new nickname, Pascalifornia. I'm wondering what your reaction to that nickname is, and what you think about your success in the state.

PASCAL SIAKAM: [INAUDIBLE] man. I don't know, man. You got to give me a better question than that. I don't know nothing about that. I'm just trying to play, man, get wins for my team. And if it happens to be in sunny California, I'll take it.

[LAUGHTER]

- All right, thank you. I appreciate it.

- We'll go to Orin.

- Hey, Pascal. You talked earlier in the season about how the best scorers can score out of double teams, not just pass out of them. So, how has that area of your game kind of improved recently? Because it seems like you've been having a lot of success with that recently.

PASCAL SIAKAM: I was just thinking that I continue to get better and read the defense, and I think being patient. That's one thing. I think sometimes when you see the double, it's just like you kind of panic. But just staying, just being calm. And sometimes, it's fake, or if it's actually a double team, passing out of it. I don't think that's a problem. It's always a good offense.

So, just trying to see, make plays, and be the best I can be as a playmaker, and also as a scorer.

- All right, thank you.

- Thanks, Orin. Two more for you, Pascal. We'll go to Michael.

- Hey, Pascal. Great game. Just what you've observed with Scottie in terms of the poise and confidence he plays with. Nick's trusting him with the ball in the fourth quarter. He seems to be able to come up with some key plays. There's a couple of those breakaway fast breaks in the fourth. What does that say to you about a young player just being able to impact the game, even though tonight it wasn't a big scoring game for him?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, I think it's great, and some of those experiences that you don't really get as a young player. And I think that being on our team and knowing that he's going to be out there, he's going to be in those situations. And for him to be composed enough to do that and be calm in those situations, and just continue to play, I think it's great.

And it's only going to help him in his career. And I think that, again, like we said, the sky's the limit for him, or at least, there's no limits. He can get to wherever he wants to get so, I always say that. It's just gonna be on him, and how much work he's going to put in, and and how better is he gonna get. But we already can see he's exceeding expectations. And me and my vote for Rookie of the Year, for sure.

- Thank you, have a good night.

- Last one goes to Mike.

- What's up, Pascal? [NON ENGLISH SPEECH]

PASCAL SIAKAM: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- Thanks, everybody.

PASCAL SIAKAM: All right, we out.

- Thanks very much, Pascal.