The Toronto Raptors claimed a surprising victory over the Los Angeles Lakers 113-104 at the Staples Center on Sunday without Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka. Pascal Siakam dropped 24 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs for the Raptors while getting the court's best Real Plus-Minus (RPM) of +15. Does that mean the 25-year-old forward is already a first-class player in the NBA?

Siakam has been putting down some incredible numbers. In the eight games he has played for Toronto, he scored 27.9 points (the sixth-highest), 9.3 rebounds (the 23rd-highest) and 3.6 assists. Siakam added remarkable 3-point shooting, especially dribble shots from the front and the two wings to his arsenal, which helped improve his offense. Meanwhile, he kept good efficiency in posting up, slashing and scoring in fast breaks. 

However, the Lakers made both him and the rest of the league realize that Siakam is still far from unstoppable on offense. It's true he could walk over most matchups thanks to his size, quickness and good finishing ability, but that stopped when he was covered by Anthony Davis. Moreover, as long as Siakam could not score comfortably in his sweet spots, he can lose his rhythm in making 3-pointers – he was 1/8 from downtown in Sunday's game.

Of course this does not mean Siakam's scoring ability should be underestimated. On the contrary, his success rate in scoring against defense by a normal-size power forward grew – the Lakers' Kyle Kuzma looked like no better than a scarecrow in front of Siakam in Sunday's game. Furthermore, Siakam was doing better in using teammates' screens and finding mismatches.

However, these improvements are only in terms of scoring. Siakam has not even begun to make himself a playmaker. His 3.6 assists per game were accompanied by 3.3 turnovers. When he drove his way into the opponents' defense, it took longer time for Siakam to find open teammates and his passing ability is still below the league average. Therefore, it's still too early for the Raptors to rely on him as a playmaker.

So here's our conclusion: Siakam is already one of the best scorers on mismatch offense and has first-class finishing ability in the paint. Nonetheless, his perimeter and 3-point shooting lacks consistency and are not qualified as regular weapons. He may make the All-Star team in the East but still has a few things to work on before he can be referred to as a first-class player.

This conclusion may make you wonder: then how did the Lakers lose the game? There two major reasons and they were connected. One thing that should be pointed out is that both teams prefer to concentrate on the paint and allow perimeter shots defensively. The Lakers missed more 3-pointers than the Raptors, which is the first reason.

The second reason lies in transition defense. Toronto was both faster, more focused and that's why they could limit LA's early offense to just eight points. By contrast, there were too many times when LA missed 3-pointers and watched the Raptors score two easy points in less than 10 seconds.

'Joker' made game-winning shot for second straight time

Nikola Jokic again made the game-winning shot to help the Denver Nuggets claim victory and this time the victim was the Minnesota Timberwolves. With only 3.3 seconds left in overtime, Jokic buried a fadeaway jump shot against Karl-Anthony Towns' defense as the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 100-98 at the Target Center.

In spite of his excellent orchestrating ability, Jokic continued to see his performance on offense worsen. He could only get 16.3 points per game and his field goal rate, 3-point rate were 45.9 percent and 26.5 percent, which were almost unacceptable. Moreover, having gained weight this summer, Jokic looked slower and lazier than before on the court.

Nonetheless, when the game is on the line, whoever takes on him – usually centers – will have a better understanding of what pain means. In the past two games Jokic took care of two totally different centers, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Towns of the Timberwolves, who are the league's top three big men.

As for Embiid who likes to post up around the free throw line, it's extremely hard for him to move Jokic's over-300-pound body; as for Towns who prefers to use his speed and long shooting range, Jokic is always able to read where he wants to go and stands there in advance. When it comes to offense, the opposite happens. Towns is not strong enough to tussle with Jokic while Embiid is not fast enough to interfere with his shooting.

Other games on Sunday included (home teams in bold):

Indiana Pacers 109-102 Orlando Magic

Charlotte Hornets 106-114 Philadelphia 76ers

Milwaukee Bucks 121-119 Oklahoma City Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers 108-87 New York Knicks

Brooklyn Nets 112-138 Phoenix Suns

Atlanta Hawks 113-124 Portland Trail Blazers