At the dawn of a season which promises to be uncertain for them, the Raptors have nevertheless displayed great optimism since the opening of their “training camp”. With the exception of a certainly palpable tension at the “media day” between Pascal Siakam and his management, all the lights seem green for the club Torontowho also ideally started his pre-season last weekend by dominating the Kings in Vancouver (112-99).
At the center of this exciting preparation? Darko Rajakovicthe new coach of the Raptors.
“ He is a very enthusiastic, very positive person. He understands how the current NBA works, the modern NBA so to speak. “, also assured Jakob Poeltl this Wednesday. “ We do serious training, but he makes sure that the training is still enjoyable for everyone. »
Nick Nurse not really regretted…
In fact, what we have learned from the various statements made by players since media day ten days ago is that everyone seems relieved that Nick Nurse’s regime has been replaced…
“ Our defensive schemes are a little different, some rotations too. And then he adapts. Sometimes some coaches are narrow-minded and do not change the way they operate. Him, no. He happily welcomes our feedback, to make our lives easier, because at the end of the day we are on the ground “, ensures for example Thaddeus Young, when Jakob Poeltl judges that the defensive system is “ a little more structured [que la saison passée]. »
We also remember the statements of Gary Trent Jr. at “media day”, the back indirectly criticizing the current coach of the Sixers by explaining that he had “ further discussed with [Darko Rajakovic] than with any other coach I have played for in my entire career. It’s very refreshing. »
Concerning the attack, Darko Rajakovic had warned: he does not like isolation, nor stagnant phases of play, two recurring descriptions of the Raptors’ moribund attack last season.
“ Darko places a lot of emphasis on ball movement. So as soon as he sees that we are stagnating, he stops training “, continues Thaddeus Young. “ And that’s a very good thing. Last year, when this was the case, we acted as if nothing had happened. Of course, he lets us play despite our mistakes. But overall, he doesn’t hesitate to interrupt to guide us. And the guys accept it. He leaves his mark on our game. »
Be smarter on defense
Renowned for his modern approach to attack, Darko Rajakovic is also of course working to improve the Raptors’ defense, which is rather solid (11th in efficiency, with 113.1 points conceded over 100 possessions) but predictable, with opponents knowing that Toronto bet everything on interceptions and double catches on opposing stars.
In this area, as Thaddeus Young and Jakob Poeltl briefly mentioned above, the Serbian coach’s primary desire is also to establish a game plan.
“ I would say we’re just looking for a happy medium. », Summarizes for example the Austrian pivot by evoking defensive aggressiveness on the passing lines, while the 2022/23 version of the Raptors tended to take too many risks in this area. “ Considering our squad, the profile of our players, we are not going to deny this aggressive attitude in defense. But we want to be more in control, less in improvisation. »
“ We will definitely focus on that », Confirmed Darko Rajakovic, whose players deflected 31 balls last Sunday against the Kings. A total that the former Thunder and Grizzlies assistant would even like to bring to 32 in each game during the season.
“ In my opinion, trying to disrupt the passing lines is not necessarily taking risks », summarizes Darko Rajakovic, displaying at the same time his desire to use “switches” on screens and aids as little as possible. “ Because the most important thing is how we put pressure on the wearer. How to defend dribble hand-offs [main-à-main]. Defend with active hands. The end goal is not to make an interception. It’s about disrupting the passing lines, while respecting our patterns. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Pascal Siakam | 71 | 37.4 | 48.0 | 32.4 | 77.4 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 24.2 |
| Fred Vanvleet | 69 | 36.7 | 39.3 | 34.2 | 89.8 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 7.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 19.3 |
| Gary Trent, Jr. | 66 | 32.1 | 43.3 | 36.9 | 83.9 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 17.4 |
| Og Anunoby | 67 | 35.6 | 47.6 | 38.7 | 83.8 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 16.8 |
| Scottie Barnes | 77 | 34.8 | 45.6 | 28.1 | 77.2 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 15.3 |
| Jakob Poeltl | 26 | 27.2 | 65.2 | 0.0 | 56.9 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 9.1 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 13.1 |
| Chris Boucher | 76 | 20.0 | 49.3 | 32.8 | 76.2 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 9.4 |
| Precious Achiuwa | 55 | 20.7 | 48.5 | 26.9 | 70.2 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 9.2 |
| Otto Porter | 8 | 18.3 | 50.0 | 35.3 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
| Malachi Flynn | 53 | 13.0 | 36.0 | 35.3 | 75.8 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 4.6 |
| Dalano Banton | 31 | 9.0 | 42.3 | 29.4 | 70.8 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 4.6 |
| Will Barton | 16 | 13.2 | 35.4 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| Thaddeus Young | 54 | 14.7 | 54.5 | 17.6 | 69.2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 4.4 |
| Christian Koloko | 58 | 13.8 | 48.0 | 8.3 | 62.7 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.1 |
| Juancho Hernangomez | 42 | 14.6 | 42.1 | 25.4 | 56.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.9 |
| Jeff Dowtin | 25 | 10.3 | 43.9 | 31.3 | 66.7 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2.4 |
| Ron Harper | 9 | 5.3 | 50.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| Khem Birch | 20 | 8.1 | 59.4 | 50.0 | 80.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Justin Champagnie | 3 | 3.6 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Joe Wieskamp | 9 | 5.5 | 21.4 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
