SIMMONS: How great is Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic? Stay tuned

'We are ready. We play for our fans. We play for the city. We’re going to block out all the outside noise and really focus on us.'

Get the latest from Steve Simmons straight to your inbox

Published Apr 15, 2026  •  4 minute read

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic watches play during the first half of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Antonio. Photo by Darren Abate /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Darko Rajakovic walked in to take his regular seat in the Raptors interview room and took just a moment to look around and take in the large number of those waiting to ask questions.

Article content

He was a touch startled by the attendance in front of him. It normally isn’t this kind of crowded for the coach.

Article content

Article content

But then, he hasn’t been in this place before, just days before the Raptors first playoff game in four years.

He hasn’t been to this place in the season before. If there is any kind of Raptors theme as the NBA playoffs begin for them on Saturday afternoon, it is that. Haven’t been here before.

Not the coach. Not so many of these Raptors players. Not the players the Raps will depend upon when their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers begins.

The long-armed, all-purpose Scottie Barnes has played five seasons in the NBA. He’s been in the playoffs once. He got hurt in that series. He’s never won a round. He’s never been close to the post-season in his time emerging as an NBA player who does almost everything.

He’s now looked upon as a leader for a team that’s probably not good enough to be a contender, not bad enough to be a pretender.

This is Brandon Ingram’s 10th season in the NBA. He started with the Los Angeles Lakers and may be one of the few Lakers in history to miss the playoffs all three seasons in Los Angeles. He’s made the playoffs just twice in six years in New Orleans. In his nine seasons before coming to Toronto, Ingram has won two playoff games.

Article content

Article content

Defining moments

These are your Toronto Raptors.

A coach, undefined, still looking to make a name for himself.

A star, defined but not with the bright lights shining, looking to be great when it matters most.

A scorer, reinvented in this season, looking to score at playoff time, really, for the first time in his career.

Do we know what Darko Rajakovic is as an NBA coach? We didn’t really know Nick Nurse until his series with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. We didn’t really know Dwane Casey before his playoff ups and downs in Toronto. This isn’t just a time of year for players to be explained. This is a time of year to understand how well-coached your favourite team happens to be.

Playoffs don’t hide a lot in the post-season, and neither do coaches. This is the time when they are exposed or the opposite, defined. Basketball isn’t hockey. The game needs coaching in all 48 minutes. Rajakovic has been waiting his whole life for the bright lights to shine on his team, which by extension, shine on him.

Article content

He isn’t a look-at-me kind of guy as a coach. It’s not about him, it’s about his team. But here’s the thing, the more it’s about him in these coming playoffs — assuming the best — the better it will be about his team.

“This is awesome and this is very exciting for us,” said Rajakovic from the podium Wednesday afternoon. “Everything we do over the season is preparation for the playoffs.”

Coach obsessed

He is obsessed the way most coaches are obsessed. They study and work and study some more and then have to decide how much of the information they turn over to their players.

He doesn’t want to overwhelm his team. The Cavaliers with James Harden and Donovan Mitchell may do that on their own. He doesn’t want his players “overthinking” and not naturally reacting.

He wants the team to be well-prepared, but not robotic.

“We are ready,” he declared. “We play for our fans. We play for the city. We’re going to block out all the outside noise and really focus on us.”

And then he said what everyone who has ever seen an NBA playoff game says for the first time: “This is a man’s game. It’s going to be physical.”

Article content

That’s always the eye-opener for every young player in every sport. The welcome-to-playoffs moment. The blitz you didn’t see coming. The Gordie Howe-Bill Laimbeer elbow you ate for dinner. The contesting of every jump shot, hand in your face, all night long.

The question with the Raptors isn’t can they beat the Cavs? The question is, can they compete at this level, the level needed to win in the NBA, at this point in time in the rebuilding of their franchise?

Read More

1. 

   Why Raptors can't afford to be without Immanuel Quickley in playoffs

2. 

   Raptors back in the NBA playoffs, will face Cleveland Cavaliers

3. 

   What the Toronto Raptors did right and what went wrong during NBA 2025-26 season

These Raps are like the 2017 Leafs

In a way, this is reminiscent of the Maple Leafs first playoff series against the Washington Capitals back in 2017. The Leafs lineup was full of kids. The Capitals had Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom, and Braden Holtby in goal. The Leafs were the better team in series but lost in six, taking five games to overtime.

Article content

This is a similar opportunity for the Raptors. The Cavs won 52 games. The Raps won 46. There is an opportunity here of the Raptors, but how much of an opportunity is the question.

“I like our chances,” said Barnes.”I feel like our guards can do a great job of pressuring their guards. I feel we can match their physicality.”

In today’s world, with everything always about gambling, Barnes doesn’t care much that the Raptors happen to be underdogs against the Cavs.

“Being an underdog,” he said, stealing some profanity from the departed Masai Ujiri. “That sh– don’t matter.”

[email protected]

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content