The Toronto Raptors are not trending in the right direction.
The team has lost 10 of their last 13 games and currently find themselves with the 7th worst record in the NBA.
The Raptors suffered a new low when they blew a 17-point lead against the Utah Jazz. The Raptors got outscored in the fourth quarter 41-21.
Through 29 games, it hasn’t been pretty for the Raptors. Beyond roster changes something that has been brought up is if Darko Rajakovic will change up the starting lineup.
Every time Rajakovic has been asked about making a starting lineup change, he has sounded reluctant to do so.
When asked about it again following the loss to the Jazz, Rajakovic had a very transparent response via Josh Lewenberg:
“We’re looking at it but always when you talk about it, it’s what, how, why, who?… It’s not like we have Steph Curry sitting on the bench and I’m keeping him off the court.”
The starters have gotten off to a much better start the last two games.
“It’s not really about lineups. The same people were on the court in the second half but we were completely different in the way we played… The easiest thing is to change lineups but are those cosmetics or are they addressing the real (issue)?” said Rajakovic.
Rajakovic does bring up a good point. The Raptors fell flat in the second half. However, Scottie Barnes was benched for long stretches and he didn’t get nearly enough touches in the fourth quarter when he was having a special night.
Will the Raptors change up the starting lineup?
A potential starting lineup change is benching Dennis Schroder in place of Gary Trent Jr. who is starting to find his form. This would allow Scottie Barnes to start at point guard and Schroder to lead the second unit.
This could in theory help the Raptors, but roster construction appears to be more of a problem for Toronto at this point. That is why management must make some big decisions soon about the direction of this franchise.
However, for now it’ll be interesting to see if Rajakovic does make a starting lineup change or sticks to his guns.
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