Rajakovic’s unwavering spirit has Raptors motivated and engaged

The Toronto Raptors are one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

You read that right. The Raptors – the same team that gave up a franchise record 555 points in a rock-bottom four-game stretch just a month ago, are one of four teams league-wide to have won five of their past six games.

They’ve done it against a decent run of opponents also, with a win over the defending champion Boston Celtics as their signature, as well as wins against Golden State, Orlando and recently two consecutively on the road against Atlanta. Not a murderer’s row by any means, but each of those teams is hovering around .500 and all aspire to bigger things.

Want your mind blown? During that stretch, the Raptors have had the third-best defence league-wide. Imagine.

What this will all mean on May 12th when the lottery balls tumble and the Raptors learn where they’ll be picking at the draft in June is a different subject. For those committed to the idea that the most important thing that comes out of this season is better lottery odds – a notion not at odds with the front office’s thinking – there is no need to panic yet.

Even after Toronto’s recent run, its 13-32 record remains fifth-worst league-wide and well within range of the bottom three, which is where the best odds lie.

So while the sun’s shining on the Raptors, perhaps it’s time for some appreciation for head coach Darko Rajakovic who has had to wear this rebuild on his sleeve. He’s a proud, tireless coach in the Serbian tradition, and whose demeanour has never wavered. Even as his first NBA coaching job has come with a lot of heavy lifting and left him with a career record of 38-89, the recent surge included.

As Rajakovic and his staff hosted an open house for more than 800 local youth basketball coaches on Sunday, while the Raptors practised at Scotiabank Arena, it might be a good time to acknowledge that the 45-year-old knows what he’s doing on an NBA sideline. Recognition that sometimes goes unsaid when an injury-ravaged team loses 16-of-17 games, as Toronto did not too long ago.

And perhaps at the top of Rajakovic’s accomplishments is that his team didn’t splinter over the course of that, instead, they emerged on the other side of it motivated and engaged.

“We did have, like, two weeks of (a) rough patch, and there are multiple reasons for that. I’m not the one looking for excuses at any point of time,” said Rajakovic.

“But what even happened in those moments? Our group stayed together. And our group is really showing up every single day to work and try to help each other and to figure out how we can improve as a team and all guys individually. So as a result of that, lately, we’re seeing better performances. Of course, when you win, you have that positive, you know, feeling and like new energy that tells you we’re on the right path.”

And it’s not just the coach saying that.

“I think he does a great job,” Raptors wing Scottie Barnes said as the team prepared to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night and win a fourth consecutive game. “Darko does a great job of communicating to us every day. He really cares about us. And I feel like that’s what’s most important.

“Him being able to build a relationship with us and each and every single player and care about their lives off the floor. I feel like that just brings a whole different perspective about him. We love him for that more than on the court. He cares about us as human beings. We love him for that. I love him for that. His spirit, pride and everything he’s about, he’s a great guy.”

But coaching is about more than just emotional intelligence, though by all indications Rajakovic has that in large doses. Coaches can’t just be nice guys, not at the NBA level. They need to have a tactical acumen that resonates as well.

Some of that has been on display over the past two games as Toronto played a pair of games in Atlanta with one day off in between.

It’s not likely the Raptors will be in the playoffs anytime soon and they weren’t last year either. But Rajakovic wanted to approach the two-game set like you would a playoff setting, adjusting the game plan where needed.

 “To be honest, you, I think it went really well. Our coaching staff is in its second year together. We’re continuing to develop our chemistry, to understand each other, to understand the philosophy, what we really want to achieve,” said Rajakovic. “And (assistant) coach Eric Khoury had the (advance) scout. He did a great job preparing for game one (and) game two.

“But also everybody chips in. You know, (assistant) coach Pat Delaney, who is responsible for defence and Jama (Mahlalela) for offence, are always coming with good ideas and suggestions. And I think this mini-playoff series was a good test for us to see what it’s going to look like for us when we play playoff series, and what we can learn and how we can get better.

“And I’m also proud of the guys. We go into our shootarounds and we plan for 10-15, minutes of film and talk, and then we end up talking for like 30, 35 minutes. And it’s not coaches talking. It’s actually players, and they’re owning it and asking questions and helping each other. So lot a lot of positive stuff going on there, and really proud of the guys and how they reacted in both games, especially in game two.”

Perhaps the most evident example was how the Raptors approached guarding Hawks point guard Trae Young, a three-time All-Star who also leads the NBA in assists this season. In the first game, the Raptors prioritized limiting Young’s scoring opportunities as Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead played something close to a box-and-1 on Atlanta’s star. It was successful in that Young scored 18 points – well below his season average of 22.8 – and took just 11 shots through the first three quarters. But Young still managed to dish 13 assists (compared to his league-leading average of 11.5) and the Hawks scored 119 points.

On Saturday, the Raptors upped the pressure even more, often bringing a second defender to the Hawks guard and rotating sharply off the ball. The result was Young only managed 16 points on five-of-12 shooting while being limited to just four assists. The first time in 202 games he didn’t rack up at least five dimes, while Toronto also forced Young into a career-high 11 turnovers.

Related: The Raptors held the Hawks to just 94 points in what was a 26-point blowout win. It was just the sixth time the Raptors held an opponent to under 100 points this season, three of them coming in the last six games.

Given that Rajakovic had to wear it when the Raptors were giving up an average of 139 points per game in their injury and illness-riddled stretch of horror over the holidays, it’s encouraging to see how his team has performed with the advantage of some practise time and a relatively healthy roster.

“I think it’s always hard to play a team twice,” said Raptors veteran Chris Boucher, who came off the bench for 23 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes on Saturday. “They make adjustments, we make adjustments. I think we did a really good job seeing what we did well (Thursday) and trying to keep on with that and fix the little issues that we had … they came back with a better roster, obviously, with (Hawks centre) Clint Capela coming back. So, we had a lot of things that we wanted to work on, and I think we really did that. With the way we’re playing the last six games, I think we’re getting things together.”

How long it will stay that way is the next question. The trade deadline is approaching and if the front office has its way some or all of the veterans that have been helping the Raptors find their footing may be playing for other teams. Injuries have been a constant this season – point guard Immanuel Quickley will miss his seventh straight game on Monday with a hip strain while centres Jakob Poeltl (back), Kelly Olynyk (calf) and wing Ochai Agbaji (finger laceration) are all questionable.

But given some decent health, a reasonable schedule and some practise time for perhaps a stretch this season, the Raptors have played their best basketball.

There is plenty of credit to go around but save some for the head coach.

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