As much as Darko Rajaković is changing the Raptors, they are changing him, too

BOSTON — Everybody raves about Darko Rajaković as a person and a communicator. The Toronto Raptors wanted a head coach who was not only different stylistically from Nick Nurse, but one that had a softer touch, too.

The first-year coach has been great in that regard. At every practice, he takes one or two Raptors aside and has a conversation with them. On Tuesday, the evening the Raptors reconvened after a Christmas break, he spoke at length with Garrett Temple. In the following days, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam had their turns.

“Oh yeah, we definitely talk,” Anunoby said Friday morning. “We’ll sit down and watch some film. We’ll just talk about stuff or talk about the game or talk about even stuff outside of basketball.

“Definitely, he wants everyone’s opinion on stuff. He has his own opinion, but he’s willing to listen to other people’s opinions, too. Definitely collaborative. And just positive — Darko (has) energy. He always has a great energy.”

That is great. No joke, it really is. People tend to perform better in all walks of life when they are empowered. It is nice to feel like you have some control over your work life. We can all relate, right?

The notion that an attempted vibe shift is going to fundamentally change the fate of this team, though? That is dying in the mess of a season that is once again trending toward lost. The Raptors fell 120-118 to a skeleton crew of the Celtics on Friday. Boston was playing without Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford a night after being pushed to the brink by the Detroit Pistons — keep them in mind — and it seemed like it didn’t matter. Boston jumped on the Raptors early and sliced up the Raptors’ disappointing defence. Jaylen Brown dominated his battle against Anunoby, the defensive ace who has been ordinary on that end as the Raptors have slumped.

Rajaković said the slow start was partly due to the Celtics’ absences, which were not confirmed until an hour before the game. Boston kept Tatum and Porzingis out for injury management given the minutes they played Thursday, so that switched from a more isolation- and post-heavy attack to a free-flowing offence. There is some merit to that, but it feels like a cop-out because the Raptors have not earned the benefit of the doubt. The Raptors got down 20, and it took a fourth-quarter blitz to get back into the game. It is just kind of what they do.

“We play with urgency in moments and we don’t play with urgency in the other moments,” Rajaković said. “For us, every player that touches the floor needs to contribute. … We cannot have any empty minutes from any of the guys there offensively and defensively. That’s how we can overcome some teams that have a lot of skill or shooting or (more) size and rebounding. That’s our way. We got to be really locked in to do all those little things.”

These performances are beginning to define the Raptors, so Rajaković has had to put down the carrot and take out the stick that is rotation changes. First came the starting lineup change, with Dennis Schröder to the bench and Gary Trent Jr. to the opening group, putting the ball even more in Scottie Barnes’ hands. After a poor stint in the second quarter Friday, Jalen McDaniels, just back into the rotation, was pulled in favour of the vaguely exiled Precious Achiuwa. Rajaković did go back to McDaniels in the second half, and the reserve responded with his best stint of the year.

In the third quarter, Rajaković brought in Malachi Flynn, another player who was supposedly out of the rotation. Chris Boucher was one of the first reserves off the bench in Washington but didn’t play in the second half against the Celtics.

“I’m trying to read the game,” Rajaković said. “I’m trying to read how the players are performing. What do we need out there?”

Thanks to some determination from Siakam and Barnes, who at different times took turns willing the Raptors to keep pace, Rajaković’s tinkering was rewarded. Siakam kept the Raptors in the game with a forceful second quarter, while Barnes’ shooting and rebounding were necessary throughout. Barnes set a career high with seven 3s, launching 15. That would have seemed impossible nine months ago. Alas, they could not get the Raptors to the finish line.

“We actually started guarding, taking the pride in one-on-one defence, (containing) the ball and not just letting them get (in) the paint for easy, kick-out 3s, walk-up 3s in transition,” said Barnes, who had 30 points and 10 rebounds.

This is not how Rajaković wants to coach this team. He doesn’t want his players to be on edge, worried that one bad stint will cost them their spot in the rotation. That isn’t his vision for the Raptors.

They are leaving him little choice.

• The Raptors missed seven of their 20 free throws, and only one of them was on purpose. This has to stop.

• The spiritual nadir of the season took place in the second quarter, when ex-Raptor Svi Mykhailiuk cooked Boucher on the perimeter before finding Luke Kornet for a dunk. The Raptors’ hybrid lineups looked like they had never played together, which they largely haven’t, getting burned off the ball time after time.

• We have learned that Barnes is not the quickest perimeter defender. Still, his footwork cannot be so poor that Jrue Holiday can turn him inside-out with a B-plus move. Barnes was great again, but there are things he needs to clean up.

• The possession in which Schröder dribbled for 16 seconds and then passed it to Otto Porter Jr., who had to try to create a shot off the dribble, was one of the worst of the year for the Raptors. The late-game two-man action featuring Schröder and McDaniels was maybe more dubious.

• The Celtics were leaving McDaniels so open from 3 that he practically had to take the shots. Then again, there is a reason they were leaving him so open. At least he kept with it, knocking down a few big ones.

• Y’all excited for the Super Bowl on Saturday night? Buckle up.

(Photo: Paul Rutherford / USA Today)