Is there any better motivator than pizza?
Not for the Raptors. Earlier this season, coach Darko Rajakovic promised to buy dinner if the team could put together a three-game winning streak. Rajakovic was picturing more of a high-end night out, but that’s not fitting his young — and, after the trade deadline, younger — team. They wanted a pizza party, and Rajakovic said after Monday night’s win over Indiana — the Pacers third straight — it was coming.
I asked Darko Rajakovic about the pizza party promised after the Raptors win three in a row. He says it was supposed to be a fine dinner but his guys are too humble.
I asked him about his favourite kind: “ a nice Margherita pizza.”
This really is some hard-hitting journalism…
— Kayla Grey (@Kayla_Grey) February 27, 2024
Toronto picked up the win behind a triple-double All-Star Scottie Barnes (21 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) and RJ Barrett adding 24 points.
There is a bigger goal than a pizza party for the Raptors. Toronto trails Atlanta by 3.5 games (four in the loss column) for the 10th seed in the East and the final play-in slot. With news Trae Young will be out for a month following hand surgery, catching the Hawks now seems possible, but it will take a lot more wins from the Raptors the rest of the way. And that may mean a few more pizza parties.
