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Pascal Siakam · The only thing more difficult than surviving the second half of a road back-to-back — as the Golden State Warriors learned on January 10, 2025 — was attempting to do so without their top three scorers. Smelling blood in the water, Pascal Siakam established camp in the post, positioning himself to give his opponents a different type of rotation to worry about. Unique in his ability to attack from every offensive level, the Indiana Pacers’ All-Star forward works judiciously against a pick-and-roll switch, hunting out a post-up opportunity against Lindy Waters III’s undersized frame. Using washing machine-like speed on the spin move that follows, Siakam pirouettes towards the baseline with ease before flushing in a two-handed jam. In the type of game that legitimate contenders prevail in, Indiana took full advantage of a Warriors group missing six key rotation pieces. Fueling a fifth-consecutive win, Siakam led the charge with 25 points (on 12-of-16 shooting), nine rebounds, one steal, and one 3-pointer. · State of Mint