The Toronto Raptors made a big change firing championship-winning head coach Nick Nurse back in April.
The Raptors were coming off a disappointing 41-41 season and an early Play-In exist. Change was expected and Nurse was let go by the team.
Toronto then had an extensive head coaching search and finally hired former Memphis Grizzlies assitant Darko Rajakovic.
Coming in all of the talk was about how Darko Rajakovic is a development coach and gets along with the players. He was huge in helping develop the Grizzlies young talent including Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.
Through the first 15 games of the season, Rajakovic seems to already have a great bond with the players.
According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, players are ‘truly impressed’ with the atmosphere Rajakovic has created around the team. Rajakovic has been checking in with the players every day and has a level of communication with them, which is something that wasn’t there last season.
The players are benefitting from having a head coach like Rajakovic. Dennis Schroder is playing at a high level, O.G. Anunoby is having one of his best seasons and Malachi Flynn is starting to come into his own as the team’s backup point guard. Rajakovic has shown a lot of belief in Flynn and it’s starting to pay off.
Also, Scottie Barnes has greatly improved under Rajakovic. Barnes is the mists of a third year leap and has seen his numbers drastically increase from a season ago. Rajakovic has given Barnes more of a role on offense and has let him take on more ball handling duties.
Rajakovic’s impact on Raptors
Rajakovic has built a new culture already in Toronto. From what he does during practices, to him implementing the ‘win the day’ chain, he has brought a fresh new vibe in the locker room.
It’s been an up and down season so far as the players get used to Rajakovic’s new offense and system. However, there’s no denying that the players are meshing well with him.
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