As the old saying goes, “don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.” The same rings true for NBA trash talk, as evidenced by Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly‘s comments about Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Pascal Siakam.
“I watch the films and I know what he was about to do when he was going left, spinning around, going right. I was like, yeah, he was the easiest superstar to guard,” Coulibaly said on Fanduel’s flagship NBA show “Run It Back” on May 13.
While this feels a little like Chris Dudley saying he knew Shaquille O’Neal was going drop step to his right shoulder, it’s worth taking a deeper look.
Bilal Coulibaly stands by his comments calling Pascal Siakam ‘overrated’
“I watch the films, I know what he was about to do when he was going left, spinning around, going right. I was like, yeah, he was the easiest superstar to guard”
Knowing & Doing Something About It Are 2 Different Things
Siakam played against Coulibaly twice in the 2023-24 season, back when he was still a member of the Toronto Raptors, winning 111-107 on November 13, 2023, and then 132-102 on December 27.
In those two games against the Wizards, Siakam put up a robust 30.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game while shooting 63.2% from the field.
Before beating up on Coulibaly’s take too much, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he does know what Siakam is about to do, maybe Siakam does utilize the same set of moves and maybe his statement isn’t as ludicrous as it sounds.
Then again, if Coulibaly knows what’s coming, he and his Wizards teammates must not have the skill to do anything about it.
In their 111-107 win on November 13, the Raptors rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wizards 30-16. Siakam had a monster game, scoring 39 points with 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to go with a team-high +18.
According to NBA.com’s matchup data, Coulibaly and Siakam matched up for 2:54 of game time, with the former holding the latter to just 3 points from the free-throw line, forcing 2 turnovers. Most of Siakam’s damage was done against Kyle Kuzma, scoring 15 points in just 5:19 on 6-for-8 from the field.
The December 27 game wasn’t nearly as close as the first, with the Raptors extending a 9-point halftime lead to 16 after the third, cruising the rest of the way. Siakam wasn’t relied upon to score as much, tallying 22 points to go with his 6 rebounds and 11 assists.
In a similar fashion to their first matchup, Coulibaly and Siakam didn’t square off much, with only 1:09 of game time featuring the matchup. Siakam scored a modest 4 points during that time, reserving most of his offensive output for his matchup against Kuzma. Siakam scored 8 points to go with 5 assists in the 5:44 that he was against Kuzma.
Maybe Coulibaly Is Right?
There’s much more that goes into defense than individual matchup stats, and there’s no doubt that Siakam ran roughshod over Kuzma as opposed to Coulibaly, but maybe there’s a sliver of truth to Coulibaly’s claim that he knows what Siakam is going to do.
Coulibaly is listed at 6-foot-8, 195 pounds. Siakam is also 6-foot-8, but has a whopping 50-pound advantage at 245 pounds. He might know what’s coming, but when you’re giving up that much advantage to a player, it just doesn’t matter.
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Wizards Guard Calls Pacers’ All-Star Forward ‘Easiest Superstar to Guard’