All-Star Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers are looking to build off last year’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Siakam relived his championship experience at All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, where he and the Toronto Raptors dethroned the defending champion Golden State Warriors in 2019. Back from the All-Star break, Siakam’s goal for the Pacers for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign is to remain in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference standings.
With a 30-23 record, the Pacers are fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, which, for Siakam, is critical for his team’s chances of making a deep run in the postseason, per Pacers’ X, formerly Twitter.
“You want to get homecourt advantage, right? Being in the playoffs, that’s what you want to do,” Siakam said. “And that’s what we should be aiming for now. That should be our goal. And I think from what we did last year, we want to improve from that. And I think that looks like an improvement if we get to those spots.”
As the only Pacers player with a championship pedigree, Siakam stands out as the team’s vocal leader fresh off his third All-Star appearance. He’s also coming off a 4-0 sweep to the champion Boston Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Although the Pacers were shorthanded against the Celtics, including two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin ruled out mid-series, teams such as the league-leading Cleveland Cavs and the surging New York Knicks could stand in their way of securing homecourt advantage.
Pascal Siakam drops honest Luka Doncic trade admission
While enjoying his All-Star Weekend, Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam commented on avoiding a fine or, worse, a potential trade by mentioning Lakers superstar Luka Doncic. When a reporter asked Siakam if he could change one thing about the NBA, what would it be?
Siakam made a funny comment while avoiding the topic altogether, per ClutchPoints’ Jerry Donatien.
“Bro, I don’t like getting into… I’m just here so I don’t get fined… I’m cool with everything,” Siakam joked. “They traded Luka [Doncic] last time, I’m trying to chill.”
Reporter: “If you could change 1 NBA rule, what would it be and why?”
Pascal Siakam: “Bro, I don’t like getting into… I’m just here so I don’t get fined… I’m cool with everything. They traded Luka [Doncic] last time, I’m trying to chill.”
(via @JerryDonatien) pic.twitter.com/4DosA8g1xm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 15, 2025
Still, for Siakam, being back in the Warriors’ old Oracle Arena did bring back fond memories of winning a championship with the Raptors. Now, it’s his mission with the Pacers as locking down homecourt advantage by the end of the regular season remains the team’s short-term goal.
The post Pascal Siakam states Pacers’ ‘goal’ after All-Star break appeared first on ClutchPoints.
