It’s a new year, and many people are contemplating their goals and resolutions for 2026 — the Toronto Raptors are not exempt. Ahead of their match-up against the Atlanta Hawks, the first of a two-game
series between these two teams, Raptors’ coach Darko Rajakovic talked about setting good habits. Using the word ‘habits’ is another way to describe consistency, something the Raptors have been lacking so far this season. Heading into the weekend with a 20-15 record, everything from injuries to weird schedules to just the play on the court in general has pointed to a lack of consistency that is starting to catch up with this team.
With Jakob Poeltl still out, his back injury leading to a week of rest to see if it would help, Collin Murray-Boyles was inserted into the starting lineup alongside Barnes, Barrett (still on a minutes restriction), Quickley, and Ingram.
As are most games against Atlanta, honestly, this game was weird. Toronto scored nearly 80 points in the first half alone, the officiating was scattered and odd at times, and despite a big offensive performance, the Raptors were only up 7 at halftime. With all the calls from the refs, it felt like the game was way longer than usual.
The best part of this game, hands down, was Brandon Ingram. He’s… incredible. A hooper’s hooper, as he was described at the beginning of the season. Just a GUY. When he gets hot (which is most nights), he’s unstoppable. Not only that, he’s just so damn fun to watch. I theorized earlier in the season (during the winning streak, if I’m not mistaken) that Ingram has revitalized this franchise. When he plays like he did tonight, that statement rings true. He scored 29 points on 11-15 shooting from the field with 9 rebounds and 1 assist.
After a tightly contested three quarters, the Raptors were finally able to pull away in the fourth. RJ Barrett had arguably his best game since being back from his knee injury, as he scored a season-high 29 points — another best part of this game. He and Ingram combined to lead the Raptors’ offence, helped along by Barnes. Since defence isn’t exactly the Hawks’ strong suit, once the Raptors got going and were able to make some stops on the other end, they could leap ahead a bit. This resulted in a 134-117 win for Toronto.
While the Raptors are definitely struggling with consistency, tonight showed a glimpse of what they are capable of. A strong offensive showing, with Barrett and Ingram each scoring 29 points and Barnes scoring 20 points. While they could have been better about playing defense the entire game, they stepped it up when it mattered most, in the final minutes.
“We have to do that a lot earlier,” Barrett said about their defensive performance in the fourth quarter.
“I think I got lost in the game, in the fourth quarter,” Barrett said about what felt different tonight. “That fourth quarter, that’s Raptors basketball. That’s who we need to be,” Barrett continued.
Those small things are surely the habits Darko wants his team to be establishing as they head into the new year, and are almost halfway through the season. To be consistent would be to stack more of these good days closer to each other.
When asked about what he wants his players to take from this game into Monday’s game, Rajakovic praised the pace of the game and the play from Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett. He praised both players’ defence, especially. Rajakovic also talked about studying film from a game like tonight’s, giving the disparity from quarter to quarter. He mentioned they will look back on games like this and really dive into what should be salvaged and what needs to be corrected.
That will come in handy immediately, as the Raptors will play the Hawks for the fourth and final time this season on Monday. In such close back-to-back games, studying film and having a solid game plan based on what worked tonight will be key to their success. The Raptors could use a back-to-back win as well, to start building a streak. They haven’t won more than two games in a row since their nine-game winning streak in November.
