Pascal Siakman’s game-winner is just one win in a tough season for the Indiana Pacers, but it’s clear it means something to him and the team.
This season isn’t what anyone hoped for. Nor was the situation that Pascal Siakam found himself in when he drove to the basket in the final seconds against the Chicago Bulls. But much like the season itself, the Indiana Pacers veteran leader made the most of it when he took a highly contested shot between Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones.
And he made it.
Hardly seems how it was planned, as Siakam didn’t have a concise answer to sideline reporter Jeremiah Johnson asked Siakam to walk him through it.
“Uh… nah, it was the shot clock was going down and eh, gotta get (it up),” Siakam said.
“Looked like you were gonna pass it off,” JJ noted.
“Yeah, I thought about it and then was like nah, I thought about the game-winner in Toronto, and I was like, man I need one. After they got me in Toronto, I knew I needed to get one right here on this one.
“It was a good play. I got to my spot, and let it go.”
Pascal was tired of feeling like prey. He was ready to hunt.
Gap year, lost year, none of that matters in moments where something simply feels good. Or even bad.
No one is going to try to bullshit you into believing that these moments mean more than those game-winners in the playoffs. This is a strange year for the players as they know that their success is all but capped without the spark provided by Tyrese Haliburton.
But they mean something.
It means something when Bennedict Mathurin collapses in the disappointment of not giving his team a game-winner on the road. It also means something when Jay Huff and the team picks him up and tell him it’s on to the next one.
Even big picture-wise, moments can mean something when Huff scores the Pacers’ first 14 points against the Bulls and keeps blocking shots at a stupidly high rate. Maybe Mathurin finds the best version of himself this season. Maybe Walker becomes more than potential.
This year may not be what anyone wants, and any silver lining on it is just that, the highlighting of something beautiful around an otherwise unpleasant and foreboding. When Haliburton does return next season, maybe the lessons learned in the few wins and abundant losses will be the lore that successes are built on.
But each moment matters, even if just within itself.
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