How Cheick Diallo Can Learn From the Raptors' Pascal Siakam

[caption id="attachment_48345" align="aligncenter" width="590"] NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 15 (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)[/caption]rnrnIf you have read any of my previous articles in which I mention Cheick Diallo, you would probably come to the correct conclusion that I am not a big fan of his. I see Diallo as someone with the perfect NBA body who, through either his fault or his coaches', has been completely ineffective on the basketball court.rnrnDiallo's on court play only makes me more angry when it is compared to that of Pascal Siakam, someone with very similar athleticism, size and NBA experience. Unlike Diallo, Siakam has turned himself into a very good role player in two years, with a real plus-minus of 1.52, while Diallo has seen fluctuating minutes, and has been declared a four-five "tweener", posting a -2.55 RPM.rnrnSo what's the difference?rnrn[nextslide teaser="Similarities" slider="true" /]rnrn rn Similarities rnBefore going over why Siakam has been a much more serviceable NBA player than Diallo, let's first look at just how similar these two are from a physical level, as I am not overstating it. The following statistics come from the 2016 NBA Draft Combine :rnrn Body Fat, Weight: rn rn t Pascal Siakam: 5.2%, 226.6 lbs. rn t Cheick Diallo: 5.6%, 218.6 lbs. rn rnAs you could probably tell from pictures, both Siakam and Diallo are on the skinnier side, being two of the six power forwards lowest in body fat percentage, among the 21 who attended the combine.rnrn Height without Shoes, Standing Reach, Standing Vert, Wingspan: rn rn t Pascal Siakam: 6'8.25," 8'11.5," 30.5," 7'3.25"" rn t Cheick Diallo: 6'7.5," 8'11.5," 31," 7'4.5" rn rnThe two are somewhat short big men, but their long arms and high verticals more than make up for their foot-to-head measurements.rnrn Agility Test, Three Quarter Sprint: rn rn t Pascal Siakam: 11.25 s, 3.41 s rn t Cheick Diallo: 11.24 s, 3.26 s rn rnDespite Siakam often being praised for his athleticism, Diallo was even faster than Siakam at the combine.rnrnFurthermore, Diallo and Siakam have both shown the ability to be incredible transition players. Siakam's 1.27 points per possession lands him in the 83rd percentile, while Diallo's 1.42 puts him in the 95th percentile. This is due to their quickness, and short spurts of transition ball handling ability.rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnNow, onto the differences.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Perimeter Defense" slider="true" /]rnrn rn Perimeter Defense rnOne of the most appealing aspects of Pascal Siakam is his ability to defend smaller players on the perimeter. He does this by using his lateral quickness and athleticism. These traits became especially useful off of pick-and-roll switches, as Siakam's height would deceive ball handlers into believing that he was an advantageous mismatch. How wrong they were!rnrnAnd no, Siakam was not an amazing isolation defender, but he was serviceable, landing in the 52nd percentile. And, being that isolations are not high percentage scoring opportunities, for anyone not named James Harden, he still held these players to .89 points per possession, well below the value of an average possession.rnrnWatch how Siakam is able to contain Ricky Rubio off of a pick-and-roll switch. By using his footwork and wingspan the power forward is able to stay in front of him and, in the end, come up with the steal.rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnMeanwhile, in his two NBA seasons, Diallo has not put up a better point per possession mark than 1.1 when defending isolations. Despite the usual inefficiency of an isolation play, this would mean that teams were actually able to put up pretty good shots against Diallo's isolation defense.rnrnThe main difference between how Siakam and Diallo defend isolations is foot placement. Siakam keeps his feet shoulder width apart, and always tries to keep himself between the ball handler and the basket. Conversely, whether intentionally or not, Diallo often gives up the drive too quickly by shuffling his feet, and then has a hard time recovering.rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnObviously, Lillard is a far superior scorer to Rubio, but the overall numbers do not lie. Perhaps this is part of the reason Siakam has a 1.09 DRPM to Diallo's -.88.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Interior Defense" slider="true" /]rnrn rn Interior Defense rnThe other thing plaguing Diallo's DRPM is his rim protection. Despite Diallo and Siakam being of similar size with similar leaping ability, opponents have shot 3.2% better within six feet of the rim with Diallo defending them, while shooting 6.8% worse against Siakam. This is despite Diallo having a better block percentage than Siakam.rnrnThe main reason for the difference happens to be in their defensive approaches, with Diallo going for blocks , while Siakam goes for contests . Though this might seem one in the same, let these two clips display the difference.rnThis is Diallo going for a block .rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnAnd this is Siakam going for a contest .rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnDiallo tries to sneak up on drivers to get blocks after they put up shots, while Siakam makes sure his feet are set and arms are up to contest, even before the driver puts up a shot. Though some big men thrive off of the "surprise attack" move Diallo tries, his DRPM proves that he does not.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Spacing" slider="true" /]rnrn rn Spacing rnDespite Cheick Diallo being a better interior and mid range scorer than Siakam, much like his DRPM, Siakam's ORPM is .43 to Diallo's -1.67. Looking at the shot charts of Siakam and Diallo, one thing sticks out that is probably the source of the disparity.rnrnPascal Siakam took 26.5% of his shots from three and just 2.6% of his shots from mid-range in 2017-2018, while Diallo took no shots from three, and a whopping 25.6% of his shots from mid-range. And although Diallo's mid-range shot does have a higher points per shot mark than Siakam's atrocious three-point shooting, with Diallo getting .756 to Siakam's .66, neither mark is even close to the value of an average shot.rnrnHowever, Siakam does not take this many threes because he is good at them, he takes them because on offense, he stands by the three-point line, while Diallo stands in mid-range.rnrnThough this might not seem like a big deal, when Diallo stands in no-man's land, he ends up clogging driving lanes for his teammates. Meanwhile, despite being a god awful three-point shooter, Siakam's presence by the three-point line puts less potential help defenders near the paint, opening up drives for his teammates.rnrn rnrn via GIPHY That is why Holiday scored .18 points per shot better on drives when Diallo was off the court, while DeMar DeRozan has 1.04 points per shot when Siakam is both on and off of the floor, as either way, no one is in his way.rnrnFurthermore, being that Siakam is a good ball handler and cutter, he is able to make plays from the perimeter that he would not be able to from the mid-range, as it gives him more space for drives and dives (@Guy Fieri).rn rnrn via GIPHY rn rnrn via GIPHY rnrnDiallo's need to stay inside the three-point lane has given him his tweener reputation, as he does not go around the perimeter on offense, and is too small to defend score-threatening centers.rnrn[nextslide teaser="So, What's Next For Diallo?" slider="true" /]rnrn rn What's Next for Diallo? rn[caption id="attachment_47997" align="aligncenter" width="590"] NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 18: Cheick Diallo[/caption]rnrnDespite Diallo having a disappointing sophomore season, I have not lost faith in the possibility him eventually becoming a solid role player. Though Diallo has shown to be more raw than Siakam in two seasons, that could just be because Diallo is two years younger.rnrnHowever, Diallo will definitely need to change parts of his game if he wants to be effective in 2018-2019. On defense, Diallo needs to simply play smarter. No more giving up drives to smaller switches, and no more glory-block interior defense.rnrnOn offense, the next step is for Diallo to develop either a corner three-point shot, which will allow him to function as a legitimate power forward and open up much needed driving lanes for driving teammates, or like Siakam, develop a solid handle in the half court, which could once again allow him to be somewhat of a threat on the perimeter.rnrn[nextpost teaser="New%20Orleans%20Should%20Consider%20Pursuing%20Danny%20Green%20This%20Summer" url="https://pelicandebrief.com/2018/05/30/new-orleans-should-consider-pursuing-danny-green-this-summer/" /]rnrnIf Diallo is able to fix his defense and make his offense at least somewhat useful, just imagine what a big man combo of Diallo and Anthony Davis would be able to accomplish defending the pick and roll.

Pelican Debrief

How Cheick Diallo Can Learn From the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam

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