You know, it's one thing to hear how a team or defensive coach tries to foster a sense of defensive intensity, and I myself got a sense of what the Toronto Raptors aim to establish on that end of the floor at a recent coaches' open house event. Rewinding to what I heard from defensive strategist and assistant coach Pat Delany during his session — like "How do you make defense messy?" — and the team's emphasis on adopting a "cobra mentality" rather than a "woodpecker mentality," because a quality defender works with patience and waits for the right moment to strike.
Now, here we are four games into the 2025-26 Raptors season, on a three-game losing streak, and it largely seems like Toronto's defense has already fallen off a cliff.
Raptors' frenzied defense has everyone very confused
Yes, the defense is, in fact, messy — but for all the wrong reasons. When I say messy, I mean that nobody on the squad seems to know where to be in the correct defensive position. There also appears to be a scheme in place that forces doubles, even when they aren't needed in the first place. As the pressure ramps up full court, it’s clear that this approach is backfiring because Toronto simply lacks the point-of-attack and backline defense to compensate.
It really is odd in every possible sense. The weird overarching issue in this Darko Rajakovic era is how the team’s identity and system can feel incredibly volatile and somewhat contradictory. One minute, especially after that dominant season opener against the Hawks, the vibes, chemistry, and post-game celebrations (ironically the "Cobra Staff" award) suggest that the Raptors have seemingly figured things out. Yet, just as things seem to be improving, the next set of games can make it appear as if they've completely fallen apart, with no sense of synergy whatsoever.
NBA analyst Sam Vecenie captured this perfectly in a recent X post thread:
And yeah I think a part of this for sure is that their lineups are funky because their best players aren't completely complementary with one another. But it's still just such a roller coaster from one six-minute period to the next.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) October 27, 2025
Rajakovic and his staff always emphasize the importance of playing hard, being relentless on defense, and displaying constant aggression — and while that approach worked against the Hawks, it’s not a system that can be applied universally across every team in the league. When your lead guard, Immanuel Quickley, struggles to pick up his defender in the half court, and you have a hurt Jakob Poeltl out there, clearly having trouble moving around the court, the defense is going to break down.
So what's left? You have Brandon Ingram, who has never been a top-tier defender; RJ Barrett, facing the same challenge; and Scottie Barnes, who is undoubtedly the team’s most stout defender but still has work to do also. Basketball writer and podcast host Nekias Duncan reflected this sentiment in a recent edition of The Dunker Spot for Yahoo Sports, where he raised this very striking analytic about the Raptors thus far (YouTube link here):
"So on the possessions that the Raptors picked someone up in the backcourt last year, offense has generated about 0.96 points per possession. That was 13th in the league, that's fine. So far this year, it is at 1.22 points per possession. The Phoenix Suns were last, last year, at 1.06. They are drastically worse than what was the worst offense at this [sic], or worst defense at this last year ... It cannot be that ... It can't be that if you want to establish a foundation. "Nekias Duncan, Oct 28, 2025
I understand the importance of playing active defense, but it simply won't survive an 82-game season. Since beating Atlanta, the teams Toronto has faced can easily make the right reads and figure out their strategy. There's also a significant risk of driving the team's chemistry into the ground, not to mention players feeling overworked and exhausted if constant help and rotation is always the move. There's no need to apply that much pressure all the time — maybe just dial it back a bit and focus on how to be a fast, aggressive team without getting blown by either.
Once again, this new-look unit is still finding its rhythm, and hopefully, they can develop a more cohesive defensive chemistry that doesn’t appear so chaotic.