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Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković definitely has a fine coming his way thanks to his comments about the officiating in his team’s loss to the Lakers on Tuesday, but he certainly got his money’s worth thanks to the incredibly heated rant he went on after the contest.
The Toronto Raptors haven’t exactly become a force to be reckoned with since they hired Rajaković to replace Nick Nurse prior to the start of the current campaign, and they headed into their showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers sporting a 15-21 record.
The Lakers headed into the contest as 5-point favorites on their home turf, but the Raptors managed to give them a run for their money in the back-and-forth game before coming up just short in the 132-131 loss.
It was pretty hard to ignore the free-throw disparity in that game, as the Lakers got 36 chances from the charity stripe compared to the 13 that were granted to the Raptors (23 of the former’s attempts came in the fourth quarter—a frame where Toronto was granted a grand total of two).
There are obviously some nights where one team simply commits more fouls than the other, but when Rajaković got the chance to address the media after the game, he made it very clear he didn’t think that was the case on Tuesday while ripping into the refs.
The NBA won’t hold their referees accountable, so Darko Rajakovic, head coach of the Raptors took matters into his own hands. Good for him, more coaches should do the same. Must watch, even if not an NBA fan. pic.twitter.com/uAp2nbFLVM
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) January 10, 2024
Here’s some of what he had to say:
“What happened tonight, this is completely B.S. This is shameful for the referees and the league to allow this. 23 free throws for them and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter…
How is it possible Scottie Barnes—who is an All-Star caliber player in this league—he goes to the rim every single time with force…he gets two free throws for the whole game. How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?
They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win. That was not fair tonight.”
Damn, Darko. Tell us how you really feel.