The emergence of Siakam opened new ways for the Raptors before the morning of the Knicks

The Toronto Raptors, the NBA's top 11-1, will once again be in front of their fans on Saturday.

Head coach Nick Nurse does not think the New York Knicks will need to know Pascal Siakam.

The great third-year man recently played the best basketball of his career, especially in the last five games – all won by the Raptors – because he ran or spun in front of the competition as if his feet were stuck to the ground. During this period, Siakam averaged 15.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.8 badists. Historically a poor free-throw shooter, Siakam has even hit 12 out of 15 attempts on the line and 67.3% of his field attempts.

Asked after training on Friday based on his experience as a reporting badistant under Dwane Casey, how much time did it take for a player as evocative as Siakam to figure at the top of the report? screening?

"He's probably here now, I think," said the nurse before talking about what the emergence of Siakam meant for the team.

"That's the real beauty of it, because you know they plan the game for Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard, and I'm not sure that the players planned much for Serge (Ibaka) when Quatre but now, you can see that they are going to roll it around and play inside the other night, "said Nurse.

"The adjustments, you make them as you see the teams do something else. Now there is Pascal. It's hard to organize the game plan for a whole group of people, but that's what we're trying to do. In the end, what they think is that they have to do it, otherwise these guys will continue to hurt them, but that will open up even more prospects for Kyle and his family. Kawhi.

The nurse is right. As a coach of this deep and dangerous team, he must be magnificent to have as many weapons at his disposal. And for Siakam to make life easier for two elite players in Leonard and Lowry, the opportunities must be challenging for everyone involved in the franchise.

The nurse also pointed out that when opponents were forced to change places, big players like Siakam and Ibaka really punished them. Both rank among the top five in the NBA with a percentage of two-point goals.

"We hurt them. That's what you need to do, "said Nurse for her advantage over size in a mad three-point league. As Dwane Casey said, there is more than one way to peel a cat (fish).

While everything seems to be going well for the Raptors so far, the team is trying to stay steady.

"There is always room for improvement," Siakam said.

"We played decent basketball and we win. More importantly, I think we can always improve. In defense, I do not think we have reached our potential or what we can do with the length we have and the guys on the team, "he said.

"And offensive, we are always understanding everything. Kawhi was away for a few games, so he comes back (is lucky) to come with him and see his spots and all the rest. We still have a long way to go. "

Maybe yes, but most teams would like to be in the shoes of the Raptors.

LOSS OF SICK POWERS

The Raptors are expected to find C.J. Miles in the lineup for the Saturday morning against the Knicks, but do not expect to see Norman Powell play for a while.

Miles missed the road trip final on Wednesday in Sacramento, but trained Friday and is "probably available" for Saturday, according to head coach Nick Nurse.

Powell, of course, is indefinitely absent due to a partially dislocated shoulder.

"It's unfortunate for him because I thought he was playing pretty hard," Nurse said on Friday.

"That's where we tried to give him a solid game and significant minutes. No matter if there were four or nine, I thought he was very good at this role (after a difficult campaign in 2017-18).

"It's disappointing that he's out. We will probably start playing 10 guys with him again, "Nurse said.