Darko Rajakovic shows zero fear over Cavs’ home-court advantage

The Toronto Raptors are coming into their opening round series of the NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers without home-court advantage. The Cavs are the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Raptors are the No. 5 seed. But consider Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic as one who is unmoved by the Cavs’ having home court in the series.

Prior to Game 1 of the Raptors’ series against the Cavs, Darko Rajakovic, a veteran of the crazy home crowds associated with overseas basketball, explained why the team should not make that a factor in the playoffs, as per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports.

“We’re not playing in Europe. They’re not going to be throwing bottles at us. There’s not going to be lasers in our eyes when shooting free-throws,” Rajakovic said. “It’s going to be loud. So what? That shouldn’t faze us. We need to go out and play to our standards and enjoy the moment.”

The Raptors and Cavs faced off against each other three times this season in head-to-head, and the Raptors won all three games. All three of those games were won by double digits as well. But those Raptors’ wins all came in the first half of the season before the Cavs traded for James Harden.

Nonetheless, it was a strong season for the Raptors who made it back to the NBA playoffs for the first time in four seasons. This was Rajakovic’s third year at the helm as head coach, and it was his best season yet. Game 1 between the Raptors and the Cavs is scheduled for Saturday, April 18.

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