The Toronto Raptors Magic Strikes Again

The Toronto Raptors Magic Strikes Again

First, it was Jonathan Mobo dropped stepping in for a beastly gamewinner on the baseline to secure the wraps a 107105 dub over the Celtics and a 27-point comeback win. In the very next game, Dark Ryakovich drew up a brilliant play set with point8 on the clock to get Olivier Sar Lob at the buzzer. While it’s only the preseason, the Rap’s play calling under pressure from coach Darko looks stellar early on. Additionally, with how the crowd was as fired up as they were for the first game winner, and with how the squad was as fired up as they were for the second game winner, this gives the Raptors some feel-good vibes that provide fuel for the looming 82game grind. We’ll start with Olivier Sar’s game winner, which was a beautifully drawn up play by Darko, where Sar initially sets a flare screen for Elijah Martin while David Roddy spaces out to half court. While Rody decoys and Martin flares to the corner, Chucky Heppern sets a sideways UCLA screen for Sar, freeing up Olivier and allowing Jared Rhoden to toss a perfectly placed lob pass for the win. That play said a lot about Darko’s play calling. It wasn’t just clever, it was layered, purposeful, and designed to manipulate defensive attention at every level. The initial flare screen from start to free Elijah Martin wasn’t just window dressing. It pulled help toward the corner, forcing the defense to shift and respect the perimeter threat. Meanwhile, David Roddy’s deep spacing acted as a perfect decoy, clearing out the middle of the floor. But the real brilliance came in the timing of the secondary action. Chucky Heburn’s sideways UCLA screen that flipped the geometry of the play. Instead of Sar staying as a screener, he became the recipient, slipping right behind the defense at the exact moment they lost sight of him. Ryakovic essentially inverted rolls midplay, turning a big into a lob target off a misdirection set, something you’d expect from a playoff caliber after timeout design. It showed Ryakovic’s trust in his players to execute detailed actions and his understanding of spacing, deception, and rhythm. Every movement had a purpose. Nothing was wasted. Plays like that don’t just win you games. They reveal a coach with a deep grasp of situational basketball and a knack for turning chaos into choreography. Postgame, after dropping home the gamewinner and compiling three block shots in a win over his younger brother in 2024’s second overall draft pick, Alex Sar, the two would do a jersey swap in a touching moment. Before that, two days earlier, there was Jonathan Mobo’s game winner, which was another solid play set drawn up by Darko again with Rhoden inbounding. This time on the opposite side of the court, it’s David Rody setting a decoy flare screen for AJ Lawson, who pops out to half court. This is followed by Mo ghosting a screen for Rody before slipping inside to receive the entry from Jared and dropstepping then avoiding three Celtic defenders all in his grill. That play said just as much about Darko Ryakovic’s creativity as it did about Jonathan Mobo’s poise. From a play calling standpoint, it was another masterclass in disguise and timing. Ryakovic used familiar personnel and structure, wrote an inbounding Rody as the decoy screener, but flipped the action just enough to catch Boston off balance. The flare screen for AJ Lawson stretched the defense horizontally, forcing an initial switch and momentary confusion, while Mobo’s ghost screen for Rody created a false read that sold the defense on a potential perimeter handoff. That beauty was in the simplicity of the misdirection instead of running something complex. Darko trusted the setup and Mobo’s instincts. Once Mobo slipped inside, the floor was spaced just enough for him to receive the entry cleanly and go to work. His footwork and composure in traffic, drop step, pivot, finish through contact showed why Rayakovic was comfortable giving him a late game touch. In essence, it was the perfect blend of design and execution. Darko creating the opportunity through clever structure and Mobo finishing it through toughness and control. It reflected a coach who knows how to leverage his players strengths and a young big who’s quickly proven he can deliver when the game slows down and pressure peaks. With two preseason games remaining, the Raptors suddenly find themselves building something that goes far beyond the box score identity, belief, and rhythm. These back-to-back game winners aren’t just fluky endings. They’re proof of system and structure. You can see it in how the players move. The spacing, the timing, the understanding of where the next pass is supposed to go. It’s very early, but there’s already a visible shift in how Toronto is approaching crunchtime basketball. Ryakovich has built an environment where every player knows the playbook and understands the why behind each action. That’s the kind of detail that separates good teams from the ones that crumble under lategame pressure. And even though it’s the preeason and we have players that may not make the roster, moments like these start to condition a team’s mentality. They learn how to win, how to execute when fatigue sets in, and how to trust the guy next to them. The celebrations after each buzzer beater weren’t just about the result. They were about the realization that this group is starting to believe in the system and in each other. These wins also shine a light on the Raptor’s growing depth and adaptability, something Ryakovich has clearly emphasized since day one. Toronto isn’t relying on one or two guys to bail them out. Everyone’s involved and everyone’s fingerprints are on these plays. The days of stagnant, isolationheavy offense seem to be fading. Now there’s flow, there’s purpose, and most importantly, there’s confidence. The fact that Ryakovic has repeatedly put the ball in hands of young or fringe rotation players, Mo, Sar, Roden indecisive moments shows how much he values development through trust. That’s not something you see every day from a head coach. Instead of protecting young players from pressure, he’s putting them in the middle of it and giving them a chance to grow through real game-winning moments. When your coach believes in you like that, it changes everything. It creates a team where everyone feels valued and where any guy on the floor can be the one to take or make the biggest shot of the night. For Jonathan Mo and Olivier Sar, this preseason stretch could become a defining chapter in their early careers. Mobo’s gamewinner, finishing through contact, staying balanced, and finishing with poise showed a level of maturity and physical control that’s rare in a sophomore. He didn’t just make the shot. He read the floor, stayed patient, and trusted his instincts. Sar, on the other hand, displayed feel and precision, traits that speak to hours of chemistry built in practice. His ability to execute a timing heavy lob play with less than a second on the clock says everything about his preparation and mental focus. These aren’t empty highlights, they’re building blocks. They tell the coaching staff that these young players can handle structured moments under pressure, not just broken plays or garbage time minutes. For a developing team like Toronto, that’s huge. It accelerates the rebuild while building trust across the locker room. And when role players start producing in the clutch, it naturally raises the bar for the rest of the roster. As the Toronto Raptors gear up for their final two preseason games of 202526, the mission isn’t just to win. It’s to continue refining this rhythm. What we’re seeing is a team that’s learning to function as a collective, not as a group of individual parts. The chemistry, the communication, and the confidence are starting to click into place. Ryakovic’s play calling has given the Raptors a late game identity. Creative, poised, and unpredictable. Opponents can’t just load up on one score anymore. They have to guard every angle, every screen, every potential slip. That’s a powerful evolution, especially for a team that’s been searching for a new offensive heartbeat since the nurse van bleet era ended. These moments might look small in October. But believe it or not, they’re the kind of habits that echo deep into the regular season. If Toronto keeps executing like this, they’ll enter the 82game grind not just as a rebuilding team, but as one that already knows how to close. And that makes them a far tougher out than most

First it was Jonothan Mogbo muscling in a game winner to cap off a 27-point comeback against the Celtics. Then, just two nights later, Olivier Sarr sealed it with a perfectly executed lob play at the buzzer. Darko Rajaković’s late-game play-calling has become the Raptors’ biggest preseason storyline.

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIZ7RQDub7cuGqcTh9qqwJg

Follow Me On Twitter :https://x.com/dflowhoops

Follow Me On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dflowhoops/

The Toronto Raptors Magic Strikes Again