TORONTO — Darko Rajakovic isn't making excuses for the Toronto Raptors, even though they have to play six games in nine days, including back-to-back sets.
Toronto lost back-to-back games to the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks last weekend, beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday before hosting the Hornets on Friday. They cap off a busy stretch when they host the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
“This is the NBA. There's no room for fatigue,” Rajakovic said after Rui Hachimura hit a three as Los Angeles beat the Raptors 123-120 on Thursday. “There’s another game tomorrow, you know?
“We just have to get ready, get our shoes ready, lace them up and then go out and hoop. The schedule is no excuse for us.”
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The quick turnover from the Lakers to the Hornets this week was the fourth straight of the Raptors' young season. Toronto is 3-4 in these back-to-back games since losing to Los Angeles.
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Rajakovic said that when he first moved to North America from Europe and began coaching the G League's Oklahoma City Thunder, then-general manager Paul Rivers gave him some advice about the NBA schedule.
“The first thing he told me was, 'When you look at the schedule, don't try to make any sense out of it,'” Rajakovic said Wednesday after team practice. “That was my lesson for the G League and the NBA.
“Obviously you have to take it one game at a time. When you play five games in seven nights, you really try to put an emphasis on the recovery of the players.”
Preventative medicine has had a big impact on Toronto's back-to-back games, as – at least this season – starting center Jakob Poeltl has missed half of the Raptors' back-to-back games, including Thursday night.
Before the game against Los Angeles, Rajakovic said that Poeltl made the decision to play against the Hornets rather than against the Lakers.
“Hopefully over the next few weeks he can get there and play in both games,” Rajakovic said. “We spoke to him yesterday. He didn't feel well in training. We weren't strong enough. He didn't recover well from the last game.”
“We talked about it. He decided it would be better for him and his back to spend one more day here and get ready for the second game.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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