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Nick Nurse Believes Pascal Siakam Will Bounce Back After NBA Disappointing Bubble Performance

When 2019’s NBA Champion, the Toronto Raptors, were eliminated from the playoffs this year, one of last year’s heroes, Pascal Siakam, faced most of the blaming for the exit, after having played subpar playoffs.

Siakam, who emerged as one of the breakthrough stars of the 2019-20 NBA season wasn’t himself ever since the season restarted in the Orlando Bubble, after a months-long coronavirus hiatus.

Spicy P averaged 16.9 points on 39.4% shooting in the bubble, down from his regular season average of 23.6 points on 45.9% shooting. 

His coach Nick Nurse now detailed why his star forward struggled in the bubble and believes that the All-Star  will bounce back next season.

“He was really firing on all cylinders going into March 11. I mean, he was really playing well and continuing to trend up. Closing games. Fourth-quarter clutch shots, all those things. Then the pandemic hits and the layoff, it started bad.

For whatever reason, the layoff and the Bubble, he wasn’t quite the same player. I really believe in him, he’s a fantastic person, a fantastic worker, has a great set up and he knows what being a pro is.”