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It is time to make some strikes

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Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic hears the please to do one thing — something — to shake up his struggling staff, now losers of 10 of 13 video games after back-to-back losses on Friday and Saturday.
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Regardless of going up by 17 factors, the Raptors someway discovered themselves down by 10 factors for the tenth straight contest and extra importantly, misplaced 126-119 to a middling Utah Jazz staff. Often the Raptors begin video games slowly, however this time they had been nice at first, earlier than issues went awry late.
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Rajakovic has been requested by the media repeatedly the previous couple of weeks about altering his beginning lineup and has resisted for varied causes, together with believing Scottie Barnes isn’t able to be a lead ball-handler but, a stance he appeared to melt a bit pre-game Sunday. However afterward he nonetheless appeared like somebody that doesn’t imagine an answer will merely be discovered by tinkering with what he’s been given to work with.
“We’re taking a look at (choices) like all the time, (w) actually speak about it, like, what? How? Why? Who? These are the questions, however how does that affectt everybody else,” Rajakovic mentioned. “Positive, we are able to combine up rotations right here and there in the course of the sport. It’s not like we now have Steph Curry sitting on the bench and I’m not placing him in on the courtroom. It’s one thing we’re taking a look at. We try to get some chemistry. We’re seeing some enhancements like we did within the first half. Nice first half. Why we didn’t do it within the second half? That we query,” he mentioned.
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“It’s not even actually about lineups. The identical individuals had been on the courtroom within the second half as nicely, however we had been fully totally different in the best way we performed within the second half. That’s the mentality that we’re going to have a look at and handle … Everyone that touches the courtroom, you’ve got a accountability as a staff what must be finished. The simplest factor is to vary lineups. However are these simply cosmetics, or are we addressing actual issues? We had (a) 16-point lead within the first half.”
Rajakovic is each proper that his staff at instances will get the job finished and that it’s puzzling why issues usually additionally fall fully aside, however he’s additionally appropriate that there isn’t a simple repair from inside. He would by no means come out and say it, however Raptors administration has saddled him with one of many worst collections of shooters and NBA high quality guards in your entire NBA. It traded away an excessive amount of draft capital and has not come near changing the expertise from the championship staff that has walked out the door. Even the helpful Otto Porter Jr. doesn’t appear wholesome sufficient to play greater than a couple of times per week, even after lacking nearly all of his preliminary season as a Raptor. The staff doesn’t seem assured that rookie Gradey Dick, billed as a fantastic shooter whereas at Kansasa and after being drafted thirteenth total, is able to contribute but, having only recently turned 20 years previous.
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Rajakovic labelled the Utah loss “demoralizing,” although his gamers pledged to remain upbeat in the course of the vacation season earlier than they arrive again contemporary subsequent week.
Rajakovic mentioned the back-to-back video games couldn’t be used as an excuse for operating out of steam. He additionally took some accountability. The eteam has misplaced 10 of 13. “I instructed guys that, to begin with, ‘me as a frontrunner of the staff, I acquired to look within the mirror and see what I can do higher or totally different and the way I can assist the staff higher,’” he mentioned.
“And I count on the identical factor from the teaching workers and all of the gamers to look within the mirror and consider themselves (with) what might be finished, what every particular person can do higher to assist the staff. We now have two days off. It’s Christmas. Individuals ought to spend time with household, but in addition it’s going to be very wholesome for us to consider what we are able to do in another way and higher once we come again.”
What the entrance workplace can do in another way is one thing to assist the rookie coach have a workable roster to handle.
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