Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic admits Jakob Poeltl is ‘not himself yet’ amid recovery

The Toronto Raptors are being peppered with allegations of fraudulence amid their rough stretch following a torrid start to the 2025-26 season. On Tuesday night, the Raptors bowed out of NBA Cup contention after suffering a 117-101 loss to the New York Knicks in the quarterfinals of the competition. This was their fourth defeat in a row, and they are now 15-11 on the season.

Of course, it’s important to note that the Raptors have been experiencing some injury troubles as of late. They were without Immanuel Quickley on Tuesday night against the Knicks in addition to the absence of RJ Barrett, who’s been absent for the past nine games. But what shouldn’t go unnoticed is how Jakob Poeltl has been battling back injury issues all season long, which has required Toronto to rest him for one game of back-to-back sets.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic pointed out that Poeltl isn’t quite 100 percent yet and it will take some time before he is.

“He definitely does not have rhythm. He’s not himself yet,” Rajakovic said following the Raptors’ loss to the Knicks. “Hopefully the next couple of days are going to allow him and everybody on the team to bounce back and recover.”

Darko on Jakob Pöltl:

“He definitely does not have rhythm. He’s not himself yet.”

“Hopefully the next couple of days are going to allow him and everybody on the team to bounce back and recover.”

“We’ll have some really good practices coming, and hopefully that gives us some… https://t.co/vv9vrotjl3 pic.twitter.com/JGPWmmgVjC

— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) December 10, 2025

Raptors’ young guys have to step up

Brandon Ingram tried his best to carry the Raptors on Tuesday night, scoring 31 points on the night, but he did not have much help in their blowout loss to the Knicks. With Barrett and Quickley out, the Raptors did not have much in the way of perimeter shot-creation, and that became their undoing.

The Raptors, however, have some players who could step up. Jamal Shead performed admirably in a spot start for Quickley, but the likes of Ja’Kobe Walter, Gradey Dick, and Ochai Agbaji have to be better in providing support for Ingram and Scottie Barnes.

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