‘Guys like to play for him’
Rajakovic has remained positive in trying first season
It was early in the NBA season and a conversation broke out with firstyear Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic about his appreciation for the geometry of basketball.
He was pointing out a screen and talking about degrees and how a ballhandler approaching it from a slightly different angle would open myriad opportunities for passes and shots. It was part of the ballmoving offence Rajakovic wanted to install and demonstrated the technical aspects he wanted to bring to the job.
But what Rajakovic should have been talking about, as the tumultuous months since have shown, was the cosmic nature of the game, the unknown and mysterious forces that guide a team to its ultimate destination.
Rajakovic is still happy to talk about angle screens and dribbling and the points of a triangle that open for passers and cutters, but it has been his ability to handle the body blows the basketball gods have dealt him that has stood out. His season can be considered a successful one, all things considered.
He has coached 30 different players, from all-stars to no-hopers. He has dealt with death and tragedy, at a personal level and with young men grieving. He has seen two major transactions rip from his clutches the players he thought he’d have all season.
Remarkably, Rajakovic hasn’t lost his mind. Or his enthusiasm.
“I think his personality and character is really high,” Kelly Olynyk said this week. “Guys like to play for him.”
The one thing that stands about Rajakovic today as a trying season winds down is his unwavering public positivity. He knows that he hasn’t had a competitive lineup many nights, but he never lets that creep into his nature. He coaches and he teaches and he sends out some players everyone knows aren’t likely to be on an NBA court again after this weekend.
“I have a lot of things to work on and improve and get better at,” he said this week. “I can’t wait for the off-season to start to dig into some projects that I need to work on and to be better, so I can be better for my team. And, as for strengths, that’s for other people to talk about.”
It’s hard to judge Rajakovic’s approach because of the lunacy of the season.
Last-possession plays? Almost half of Toronto’s games have been decided by 10 or more points; there’s not a sample size to truly examine.
Settling on a rotation? That was almost impossible given the trades, injuries, absences and the 30 players to appear in games.
Applying those geometric thoughts? Team insiders will say the coaches look at rudimentary play possibilities but see they don’t have a ballhandler to initiate them, a shooter to finish them or a rebounder capable of fighting for missed shots.
“Everybody moves the ball — touch the ball, pass, cut, all of that,” Olynyk said. “Obviously there’s a lot more depth you can get into. I’m sure he wants to get into it when we have a full roster for a long period of time where you can kind of get to second and third and fourth reads and continue to build.
“But that’s obviously next season.” Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid Rajakovic this season is that he never cheated the game, he never cheated his players, he never cheated his organization. He loves the game, he loves to teach and he loves players of every stripe.
It got him through a difficult season unscathed and should make the coming seasons easier. His enthusiasm is still there.
“Every morning you wake up and get the opportunity to play in an NBA game or to coach in an NBA game,” Rajakovic said. “That’s a reason for celebration, and you cannot take it lightly.”