With a third straight victory, the Raptors coach will honor the team’s pizza party commitment.
Is there a more effective incentive than pizza?
For the Raptors, no. Coach Darko Rajakovic made a meal pledge to the team earlier in the season if they could string together three victories in a row. Rajakovic had in mind a more upscale evening out, but that isn’t appropriate for his youthful team—which will become even younger before the trade deadline. They requested a pizza party, and Rajakovic promised one following the Pacers’ third consecutive victory against Indiana on Monday night.
With a triple-double (21 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) from All-Star Scottie Barnes and 24 points from RJ Barrett, Toronto emerged victorious.
For the Raptors, there’s a greater purpose than a pizza party. Toronto is four games behind Atlanta in the loss column and behind the team by 3.5 games for the 10th place in the East and the last play-in spot. It now appears feasible to catch the Hawks after it was announced that Trae Young would miss a month due to hand surgery; nonetheless, the Raptors will need to win a lot more games to secure the victory. And a few more pizza parties might result from that.
