The night Darko became the Raptors coach (for real)

It has been an up and down season for the Toronto Raptors. Expectations were kind of high for this team, at least in terms of creating an upbeat culture again and some positive vibes.

The key to it all was the new coach that was hired before the season – Darko Rajaković.

To say it’s been a bumpy ride so far, would be an understatement. The good vibes have been certainly there and you can’t deny Darko is an upbeat and positive guy. He was dubbed early as a Serbian Ted Lasso.

But for any NBA coach, you are judged on winning games. When the Raptors were not winning games, many pointed to the coach for being out of his element as a rookie bench boss. Others were quick to point out the roster was flawed and what could we really expect from him.

Either way, Darko was a polarizing figure as the Raptors decided on a path. He is known for developing players more so than game strategy and that seemed to fit where the Raptors were.

But there have been some ugly losses. The collapse against Utah. The embarrassing loss to the Pistons.

Then there was last night when Darko won over most of Raptors nation as he stuck up for his group in a post game rant after a tough/unfair loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

I watched the fourth quarter and it was a joke. The Lakers got every foul call you could imagine. The Raps had several questionable calls on them to go with practically zero calls on the Lakers.

23-2 was the free throw disparity in the final quarter.

After the Raptors lost by one point, you just knew a banger of a post game presser was coming. Everyone online was saying – I hope Darko let’s it rip and earns the fine.

Well he did. And this morning Raptors fans feel like they have their coach now.

Darko was hot. And everything he said was correct in my opinion.

Referee Ben Foster has history with the Raptors and it sure seemed like he had it out for Toronto last night once again.

I admit I am a Raptors fan, so of course I see it as the team being robbed. But even the most unbiased fans are commenting on just how bad of a look it was. Even to the point of digging up the NBA’s history with point fixing once again.

All fans want is the calls to be the same at both ends. Did the Raptors foul a lot? Sure. But so did the Lakers. The difference on many nights is, the Lakers have LeBron and AD. They are the Lakers. The league is better when the Lakers are winning. We all get that. But when refs add to the mix like last night, it’s hard to feel like it’s fair.

Later today we will find out just how big the fine will be for Darko. But I am sure MLSE will gladly pay it. He stood up for his team. He said what we were all thinking. He became the Raptors head coach for real last night.

My last comment is for Evan Turner. You suck and this is just a horrible take.