(Toronto) At what is roughly a quarter of the way into the season, the Raptors are looking for consistency.
The Toronto club resumed training on Monday, after two days of respite.
Having not advanced out of the group stage of the intra-season tournament, the Raptors will not play again until Wednesday, when the Miami Heat visit.
Posting a record of 9-11, they have yet to win three games in a row.
“We are improving, but there are still matches where things are not going so well,” said Pascal Siakam, at the OVO Sports Center. There will be drops, but sometimes there is a big difference in energy from one match to the next. Concentration, cohesion and all that must remain more sustained from one time to the next. »
Coach Darko Rajakovic has promised a team dinner from his own pocket if the Raptors can win three games in a row.
“I take it to heart,” said the Serb. When I announced it, Pascal said, “it’s the team that will pay”, because he thinks I’m close to my money. This is not true. When we have three wins in a row, I’ll take the players and staff to dinner and I’ll take care of the bill. »
Over the weekend, Rajakovic celebrated his son’s birthday with family and friends, before studying videos from the first quarter of the season.
Monday morning, he and his staff gave their grades to the players, comparing the first 10 games with the most recent 10.
“We had 108 points per 100 possessions and it became 114 points. We have made progress offensively, Rajakovic said. But for 10 games, we’ve had a lot of problems with three-point shots. »
For 15 games, Siakam’s performance from beyond the perimeter is five in 52 (9.6%). He indicated that he doesn’t want to worry too much about it.
“It happens and you just have to keep working at it,” Siakam said. You have to trust the process. I really believe that it will come back together. »
Center Jakob Poeltl said he and his teammates know the season is long.
Rajakovic has implemented new schemes and the formation is still finding the right pace.
“What’s important is understanding how to play our best basketball,” Poeltl said. We want to be faithful to the system, hoping to reap the benefits at the end of the season. »