Battle of the Beloveds: Anunoby and Siakam go head-to-head in the NBA Playoffs

Four months ago, the Toronto Raptors employed Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby on their basketball team. Two players who lived near and dear in the hearts of Raptors’ fans while also inhabiting a space of uncertainty in the same cavity.

Was the team good enough with Pascal as the star? Could O.G. stay healthy enough to be impactful in a playoff run should the Raptors ever get back to one? Should either or both of them be traded? Should they be extended forever and ever? So. Many. Questions.

All of those questions, whether they be rooted in love or concern were extremely valid at the time, though, Raptors fans now have to wear a different tint of eyewear that the two beloved players have been moved along to new teams. Eyewear that, perhaps, has shades of remorse, or regret in the glass when looking both backwards and forwards at two players who were not only drafted by Toronto, but were lovingly and painstakingly shaped into the players they’ve become today. What if, right?

Well, a new “what if” has emerged now that Pascal’s Indiana Pacers and O.G.’s New York Knicks are set to lock horns against each other in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The what if of, “what will these two, long-time teammates look like playing against each other?” While the Knicks and Pacers both played against each other this regular season after Siakam and Anunoby’s arrival in their respective new cities, OG missed both games, so this will be the first time that all fan bases involved in this delightful mess will get an opportunity to view what promises to be quite the battle.

On the one-hand, you have the offensive juggernaut that is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were a historic offensive team this season, and, even though games tend to tighten up in the playoffs, Indiana managed to put up over 120 points in their four victories against the Bucks. Pascal was a massive part of those wins, especially early in the series where he was putting up numbers that haven’t been seen since the likes of Wilt Chamberlain.

Siakam cooled off some with adjustments from Doc Rivers, but his value to this Pacers team is unmeasurable, especially when you consider his championship pedigree on a younger roster.

On the other hand, you have the grind it out, punch you square in your nose brand of basketball from the New York Knickerbockers.

While O.G. isn’t the offensive fulcrum that Pascal is, he still managed a tidy 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2.3 stocks (steals + blocks) per game while only shooting under 50% twice in the series. Each and every person reading this knows that while those numbers are good, it’s O.G.’s defense that sets him apart from the pack.

Anunoby either spent his time in the 6-game series directly guarding either of Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey, or, remaining locked onto them as the off-ball defender ready to slide in for help. The Knicks, when O.G. is ultra-locked in on the defensive end and providing offensive support — which, TBH, is kind of always — have been near unbeatable.

How will this translate to the Pacers x Knicks series, you might ask? Expect a healthy diet of almost the exact same formula that Tom Thibodeau used against the 76ers. Pascal and Embiid have similar enough tendencies — minus the nasty ones that Embiid employs — and, while Haliburton is more of a natural distributor than Maxey, he’s always interested in penetrating the defense and getting into the middle of the court to create disadvantages for opposing team’s defenses. Pascal and the Pacers seem to have their work cut out for them against a, on paper, much better team.

This brings us to the big question of the series: which style of play will win out? The Pacers run and gun offense with Haliburton as the head of the snake feeding Pascal all over the court, or the Knicks lock-down, rough and rugged brand that brandishes one of the best defenders in the league in O.G. Anunoby?

I personally hope it goes 7 and they hug a whole lot, but that’s just me.