Raptors forward Pascal Siakam made the absolute most of a push-off during Game 4 of Toronto’s playoff series against the 76ers.
The Raptors got a much-needed win in Game 4 against the 76ers, hanging on to avoid a sweep on Saturday.
They did it thanks to 34 points from Pascal Siakam, who also came through with eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and two blocks.
While it was an impressive performance from the power forward, it came along with an embarrassing moment.
This Pascal Siakam flop was ridiculously silly
Tobias Harris did push off on Siakam’s chest but the way the defender reacted, as though he was smacked in the throat, was incredible.
Immediately, people on Twitter took notice of the cringe flop.
I hope Siakam gets an Emmy for that flop.
— Mid Major (Group of 5) Matt (@MidMajorMatt) April 23, 2022
Siakam gets away with the biggest flop I’ve ever seen
— Here for the zipline (@Clbmchl) April 23, 2022
National tv announcers: boy harden complains a lot
Raps fans: the refs are against us.
Nice of the commentators to ignore the obvious flop by Siakam.
— Scoe (@804Scoe) April 23, 2022
That is a truly comical flop by Siakam
— Major_Healy (@Major_Healy) April 23, 2022
Flopping is an unfortunate reality in the NBA. It happens and refs are empowered to punish players for it. But sometimes in real speed, they miss it. They also miss dozens of calls in other situations, so it’s rare that a single flop will truly impact a game in a meaningful way.
So it’s not the end of the world. It’s mostly a funny moment that’s well worth GIFing and pointing to for a laugh or a scoff.
The Raptors and 76ers will be back in Philadelphia for Game 5 on Monday. Siakam and company will try to extend the series with a road victory while the 76ers will focus on getting it over with.
We’ll see if flopping comes into play again.