After taking a big swing with the Brandon Ingram trade last season, the second half of the year made many feel like the Toronto Raptors might not have the brightest future ahead in the short term. However, the start of the 2025-26 NBA season has given renewed hope for the franchise.
Near the top of the Eastern Conference, they are firmly in the thick of the playoff race. Unfortunately, a recent three-game skid hasn’t gone unnoticed, as it has severely impacted them in the standings. It also caused head coach Darko Rajaković to hit the panic button, as he had some harsh words for his roster in the aftermath of their defeat.
Darko Rajaković Takes No Prisoners in Blasting Raptors Roster
Starting the year 15-7, Toronto was seeing eye to eye with the Detroit Pistons for the one-seed in the East, with the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and the Chicago Bulls right behind them. However, as the Bulls and the Heat have completely fallen apart, New York has found its groove once again. Unfortunately, the Raptors fall on the former side of the equation with three consecutive losses, dropping them to fourth in the conference.
Their latest defeat, a 121-113 loss to the Boston Celtics, who took the three seed from them, was the final nail in the coffin for Rajaković. An assistant head coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, and the Memphis Grizzlies from 2014 onwards, he assumed the head coaching job for the Raptors in 2023.
Unfortunately, it took him a couple of seasons to get the right pieces for his vision, but the start of the season has shown his ability to get the best out of his players. Sometimes, though, that comes at the price of publicly blasting them.
That was exactly the case when Toronto fell to the Celtics on Sunday. After the game, Rajaković blamed the loss entirely on the execution of his players. Beat reporter Josh Lewenberg broke down his comments on X, and they did not paint a positive picture.
“I’m demanding more urgency from the whole team. I’m demanding more scrappiness because when we do that, like we did in the 2nd half, we’re a completely different team & we can compete with anybody.”
The final score does not tell the whole story of the game against Boston, as the Raptors were down by as many as 23 points at one point before clawing their way back into the game. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and the coach expects better execution moving forward.
“We’ve gotta do that over the course of 48 minutes. It can’t just be 1 half.”
