Toronto Raptors' NBA Cup dream ends but young team takes heart in 'awesome learning curve'

Darko Rajakovic could not be disturbed on Monday night.

What would usually have been a quiet weekday night with the family on a non-game day was instead a night of intense preparation for the Toronto Raptors head coach ahead of an NBA Cup quarterfinal clash against the New York Knicks.

"I did my part," Rajakovic said of using the NBA Cup as an opportunity to prep for a postseason setting. "My wife, yesterday, she tried to talk to me a couple of times, it did not work out. I was really big into it, it felt a little bit like playoff prep and that's what I like about games like this, games with big stakes."

The Raptors came out of the gates looking sharp and motivated by the opportunity to earn a trip to Las Vegas, where the semifinals and final are held. They took an early lead with new acquisition for the season Brandon Ingram looking sensational with 17 points in the first quarter. Toronto led 39-35 as the fans at Scotiabank Arena reminded the NBA of the tremendous environment it can provide.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as the Raptors were thoroughly outplayed in the second quarter, getting outscored 34-13 as Knicks superstar Karl-Anthony Towns and former Raptors OG Anunoby dominated proceedings and New York dictated the rest of the way for a 117-101 victory.

"I think there is a great learning there," Rajakovic said. "In preparation for the game, knowing what are the stakes, I thought guys did a good job of getting motivated but motivation is not enough to win games like this. We need to also be very disciplined, we need to execute [the] game plan, to know exactly what we need to do, to know personnel."

What the NBA Cup doesn't offer is the opportunity to try again. In the playoffs, you can lose Game 1 — as Raptors fans are very familiar with — and still come back and try again. It takes four losses in a series and Rajakovic rued the fact that his team couldn't take another crack at the Knicks in a couple days. This event separates itself from the playoffs with a group stage followed by a single-elimination knockout tournament.

That environment catered to fans in attendance providing what was very much a playoff atmosphere for much of the game including what has become tradition at Scotiabank Arena with "Refs you suck" chants when Scottie Barnes couldn't get a foul call when Jalen Brunson was ruled to have poked the ball away on a dunk attempt.

Despite the loss, this game provided invaluable experience for a young Raptors team needing to learn what a playoff environment is like. Brandon Ingram showcased his stage presence with 31 points, six rebounds, and six assists but it was equally impressive to see Jamal Shead, Ja'Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles make the most of an opportunity they wouldn't have otherwise had until either the Play-In Tournament or the first round of the playoffs where the stakes will be that much greater.

Toronto, based on distribution of minutes played, have the eighth-youngest team in the league with an average age of 25.3. So many times, a player can turn up in their first playoff appearance and look like a deer in the headlights. The opportunity to play this elimination game may have reduced the chances of that happening in April.

"I think for a lot of the younger guys like me, Ja'Kobe, even Gradey [Dick], CMB, we're in the rotation a lot and play a lot of minutes," Shead said. "I think today was an awesome learning curve because we can go back and look at the mistakes we made. Look at everything we could've done better and take that time to actually watch the film, just try to be better and be ready for those situations if they come again."

It's worth remembering that a major factor in struggling to execute at the necessary level came down to the Raptors missing a couple of key players. Mississauga, Ont. native RJ Barrett remains out with a right knee sprain and received a PRP injection this week to aid the recovery process. He is expected to miss at least another week.

Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, also acquired from the Knicks in the trade that sent Anunoby to New York, was a late scratch after picking up an illness. While Jakob Poeltl, the team's starting centre and most experienced campaigner in the playing rotation, played, he looked a shell of his regular self due to an ailing back.

The Raptors have had a heavy schedule of late, playing seven games in 11 days including a stretch of five games in seven nights within that. With the loss, the team will now have five days before its next game in Miami against the Heat on Dec. 15.

Rest and recuperation is in order for a team that has now lost six of its last seven games after turning heads winning 13 of the last 14 games. They won't be practicing on Wednesday or Thursday, instead taking time to completely disconnect before trying to rediscover the team they believe they can be.

Ingram, whose presence has helped buoy the Raptors to what has been an encouraging overall 15-11 record, felt this was a learning opportunity for all involved. Even for the more experienced players, this was the first time in a long time that they played a game with serious stakes. In seeing an experienced Knicks team that played in the Eastern Conference Finals last season execute at such a high level, Ingram saw the blueprint of what the Raptors hope to emulate.

While a lot of what will be learned from Tuesday night may not show until another high stakes environment, Ingram has one big takeaway from the 26 games Toronto has played thus far.

"One big lesson that I take away from the course of the season is we have little margin for error, especially when we have guys in and out of the lineup," Ingram said. "We've had Jak out of the lineup, we've had RJ out of the lineup, we had Quick out of the lineup today. As guys come in and step up we have just a little margin for error in games especially when we play really, really good teams.

"Everybody's gotta step up including myself and we've just gotta be a little bit sharper, be the aggressor on the offensive end, and do what we've been doing on the defensive end and do it even better."