The Toronto Raptors went through Friday night’s game without Pascal Siakam, head coach Nick Nurse, and five other members of their coaching staff due to the NBA’s Health and Safety protocol. The team was able to pick up a win, a 122-111 victory over the Houston Rockets, and if they are going to win their next handful of games before the All-Star break, they’ll have to do it without the services of their standout forward.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Siakam is expected to be out until after the league starts back up following next Sunday’s game. This means that the 2020 All-Star Game selection will miss a trio of tilts against squads below Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings.
Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam is expected to remain in the league’s Health and Safety protocol through the All-Star break, missing the final three games of the first half, sources tell ESPN. Siakam sat out Friday’s victory over Houston in the protocol.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 27, 2021
The Raptors were without Siakam and six coaches, including Nick Nurse, on Friday night because of health and safety protocols. Siakam will miss games vs. Chicago, Detroit and Boston in the coming week. https://t.co/qwOS9DbZlW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 27, 2021
It’s unclear whether this will also apply to the myriad of coaches who are away from the team due to the protocol — assistant Sergio Scariolo was in charge on Friday night. This season, Siakam has averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 35.8 minutes a night for the Raptors, which started the year slow but have won nine of the 14 games they’ve played in February. Should he be cleared to return to action immediately after the All-Star break, Siakam would take the floor on March 11 for Toronto’s tilt against the Atlanta Hawks.
