Raptors held individual meetings with each player prior to All-Star break
Sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference as of today, the Toronto Raptors haven’t exactly had the season they hoped to when the year began.
With a season more defined by trades than wins and losses, it’d be easy to assume that Toronto has metaphorically thrown in the towel on trying to compete this season.
But according to Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic, they’re doing what they can to make the most of their remaining schedule, with 26 games left in their regular season.
On Thursday night, the Raptors returned to their first contest following the NBA All-Star break and came away victorious with a 121-93 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
And though it would be easy to assume that Toronto’s players took it easy over the All-Star break given how their season has gone, the Raptors didn’t exactly take that route.
“The work really does not stop,” Rajakavoic said prior to Thursday’s game. “We met with all of our players before All-Star break to give them some guidance… A couple of guys stayed here in Toronto, the coaches that were here [worked with the players] in the gym as well… it was an active All-Star break.”
Given their 20-36 record, Toronto remains four-and-a-half games out of the final play-in spot, which is probably too tall a task for a team that’s not won more than two games in a row all season.
But for a coach who was approached with potentially being a part of the team’s rebuild during his hiring process last summer, Rajakovic and his staff seem to be making the most of the team’s tough year.
“Our medical performance [staff], they did a really good job of getting really concrete plans for [the players], [outlining] nutrition [and] what [drills they] need to do on the court,” he added.
The Raptors return to action on Friday night when they visit the Atlanta Hawks. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm ET.
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