Terrible and Bad news: raptors head coach has just been arr......

Two weeks on the road allows the Raptors’ new look to gel both on and off the court.

Raptors get a chance to gel on a six-game road trip.

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Save TORONTO – RJ Barrett’s face fell as he realised he’d be heading back out on the road.

Barrett had spent most of December touring with the New York Knicks before being traded to the Raptors on Saturday, flying directly from Indianapolis to Toronto. They made their debut in red and black on Monday, only to go on a six-game road trip the next day, which will keep Barrett and Quickley on the road for another two weeks.

“Man, I thought I didn’t have to do that again,” Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., said when he realised he wouldn’t be able to settle into his new downtown Toronto home. “Man, those are tough. Those are quite difficult.

“But you stay with the team, and this would be a good test for us as we figure things out.” “I’m looking forward to seeing how we do on this trip.”

The Raptors arrived in Memphis on Tuesday and will face the Grizzlies the next night. They begin a four-game trip in California on Friday with a stop in Sacramento before continuing south with a stop in Golden State on Sunday and back-to-back games in Los Angeles against the Lakers on January 9 and the Clippers on January 10.

The Raptors wrap up their road trip in Utah on January 12 before returning to Toronto and the welcoming confines of Scotiabank Arena on January 15 to face the Boston Celtics.

Quickley believes that spending so much time on the road with his new teammates will benefit the club’s on-court product.

“A lot of time on the plane, a lot of time at dinner and things like that, on the road,” said Quickley after Toronto’s 124-121 win over Cleveland on Monday. “Just trying to get to know these guys off the court, on the court, knowing where they want the ball and things like that.

“I think the road benefits a lot for that.”

Although head coach Darko Rajakovic has stated all season that the Raptors are relying on a variety of players to stand up and be leaders, there is no doubt that all-star Pascal Siakam has significant power in Toronto. He stated that this trip will allow him to merge Barrett and Quickley.

“On the road is probably the best time to get to know each other,” he told me. “You get to hang out with me. I believe we will have team meals and other activities.

“I think the more we get to know each other, and being in tough environments on the road definitely brings people together.”

Rajakovic stated that he is still experimenting with his starting lineup to see which of his players connect now that Barrett and Quickley have arrived and OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn have been moved to New York.

“It’s going to be game by game,” Rajakovic stated. “We’re going to try to really develop the chemistry between the players and get a sense of which lineups work best and who complements who.”

“We’re learning a lot about this group right now.”

For the first quarter of the season, Rajakovic had settled on a steady starting lineup, with Siakam, Anunoby, Dennis Schroder, Jakob Poeltl, and Scottie Barnes his go-tos, with Gary Trent Jr. coming off the bench. Before Anunoby was traded, he began to experiment with Trent as a starter and Schroder as a reserve.

Both formats saw a nine-man rotation, with Achiuwa, Flynn, and Montreal’s Chris Boucher generally substituting in, while other players like rookie Gradey Dick also spent time on the court.

“I do not have my set mind on if (the rotation) going to be eight, nine, or ten,” Rajakovic added. “I want guys to be ready, and I think it’ll be night to night.”

“We’re going to have moments where guys come in and play for three, four, five minutes, and they might be playing off the bench, they might be playing 20 plus minutes.”

Rajakovic, like former Toronto head coach Nick Nurse before him, preferred wings-based offence that capitalised on the lengthy athleticism of Siakam, Anunoby, and Barnes — and before them, Kawhi Leonard.

However, against the Cavaliers on Monday, Toronto had three guards on the floor at the same time, with Schroder, Trent, and Quickley all playing at the same time.

“In this league you cannot have enough shooting and ball handling and skill,” Rajakovic went on to say. “The way the league is changing it’s more and more skill so it’s definitely a huge plus and having those guys out there playing together, I think it’s good for us.”

The Canadian Press published this news on January 2, 2024.

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