Darko Rajaković on the Raptors’ title chase: ‘Whatever expectations you have for us, we have higher’

TORONTO — Oct. 14, 2026 — A day after the Toronto Raptors buried the New York Knicks 148-98 at Scotiabank Arena, Darko Rajaković was asked about the expectations that have followed Kawhi Leonard’s arrival. The Raptors coach answered by turning the question around. Toronto, he said, is not adjusting its targets for anyone, because it set them higher than everyone else on the first day of camp.

“Our expectations are not changing. Our expectations are the same,” Rajaković said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’re chasing championships from day one. We’re looking to improve our players. One through 15 on the roster, one through 18, every player is super important for us. We want to develop those guys. We want to give them opportunities. We want to believe in them and trust them. We want to go out there and win every single game. So whatever expectations you have for us, we have higher expectations. Trust me.”

The rest of the session sketched what that looks like on the floor, two days before the preseason ends: an all-court style he calls “total basketball,” short and hard shifts, and a rotation he plans to keep fluid into the regular season.

‘Total basketball’ and five-minute shifts

Leonard played 17 first-half minutes on Tuesday and scored 21. Rajaković said the plan was about 15 minutes in stints of no more than five, which is why Toronto rolled through so many units before halftime. But he also made clear that the quick hooks were not only about easing in a star. They are how he wants the Raptors to play.

“I think it’s going to be very fluid,” he said. “If you see that somebody has rhythm and he plays really well with [an] extended guy, we might have a plan going into the game, but I think it needs to be fluid based on what we’re seeing in the game. We want to play total basketball. We want to be able to cover the ground on defense, to go really box out and rebound, to be able to run in transition and score and again crash. We’re trying to cover every single second of the game there, which is physically very demanding.”

That pace, he said, makes a full 12-minute run hard for anyone, so expect stints of four to eight minutes depending on the opponent and the matchups. “The good thing is that we have a depth of guys that can do that, that can cover for each other,” Rajaković said. “When guys go out there and play really hard, the way we did yesterday in a game, at least in the first half, I think everybody’s fine to get out of the game after playing super hard for five, six minutes.”

Tuesday’s numbers fit the description. Toronto had 34 assists, 25 fast-break points, 54 points in the paint and 12 steals, and it turned the ball over only nine times. New York shot 7-of-41 from three. Barnes scored 19 on 8-of-10 shooting, Collin Murray-Boyles went 7-for-7 for 19 off the bench, and RJ Barrett added 17.

Ten pillars, and a rotation that stays open

Asked how he will judge a defense with this much length and size, Rajaković pointed to the team’s internal scorecard. “We have our five offensive pillars and we have five defensive pillars,” he said, “and through those we are measuring a lot of things that help our defense, and they mimic our identity as a team.” He did not say what is on that list, and he declined to share his plan for the back-to-back in New York and Detroit beyond saying he has one.

The back end of the rotation is still open. Jamison Battle has not played in the preseason because of a back issue, but he went through contact play on Tuesday and practiced Wednesday, and Rajaković said he will be available against the Knicks. With two games and a couple of practices left, the coach said he would go into the season flexible about who fills the ninth, 10th and 11th spots and would not shy away from “throwing different guys in the fire” to give them a chance.

A promise to Allen Graves

The bluntest line of the day was about a rookie. Allen Graves went 1-of-7, including 1-of-6 from three, and picked up four fouls in 15 minutes in his first home game. Rajaković said he was glad it happened, and he gave Graves a simple rule to take into Thursday.

“I don’t care if the shot is going to fall or not. He’s a great shooter. I want him to shoot the ball,” Rajaković said. “I promised him this morning, the first time I see that he does not take an open shot, I’m going to sit him on the bench. It’s going to be simple as that. He has a great feel for the game. Yesterday was a typical rookie game, playing for the first time in front of the home crowd. I was so happy for him to get in foul trouble, to miss shots. I think that was awesome.”

Shooting is central to how Rajaković talks about space. Making threes “releases a lot of pressure,” he said, by keeping defenders honest, cutting down help and opening the paint. Both of Murray-Boyles’ threes on Tuesday came as the trailer in transition. Rajaković said he trusts that shot because of the work behind it, and added that whenever Murray-Boyles shares the floor with Jakob Poeltl, one of them will play in the dunker spot while the other works higher in pick-and-rolls.

Toronto (2-1) visits the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, then finishes the preseason Friday in Detroit. The regular season opens at home against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Oct. 21.