The travel and two-a-day portion of training camp has concluded. And we’ve heard the standard refrain that’s sung about every player following a summer of work. [Insert player name here] has put on 15 pounds of muscle and he’s improved his jump shot. If you choose to roll your eyes, I won’t blame you.
After a near miss in a one-point Game 7 loss last April, many of the Toronto Raptors claimed to have returned as better players—motivated by the close call that almost produced the franchise’s first-ever win in a seven-game series. Terrence Ross is noticeably bigger; Kyle Lowry is in terrific shape and ready to resume his leadership role alongside DeMar DeRozan; DeRozan’s summer played out in full view of the public, with Team USA winning a gold medal at the World Cup of Basketball; Greivis Vasquez is fully healthy; Jonas Valanciunas has new low-post moves courtesy of working out with Hakeem Olajuwon; and Tyler Hansbrough has worked diligently at extending his shooting range out to the three-point line.
But what about the man at the top? How does a coach improve?
Dwane Casey lives by the adage that when you’re through trying to improve, you’re through—period. As he does every off-season, Casey entered the bunker that is the video room and watched every game—yes, every game—his team played during the regular season and the playoffs. But his quest for improvement wasn’t a completely solitary one.
Casey took the time in the off-season to visit with other coaches—a standard practice in striving for improvement. From national team coaches to high school bench bosses, nobody was off limits to Casey. He regularly visits with Pete Carroll, Super Bowl-champion head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, he spends time with former bosses like the Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle and past Coach of the Year, George Karl. And also met with Tim Grgurich, long considered one of the NBA’s best assistant coaches.
“Those discussions are more on the philosophical level,” Casey said during training camp. “You talk ideas, because current coaches are not going to expose the nuances of their thoughts in certain situations.”
Although Casey did say with a smile that someone like Carlisle is a little easier to figure out at times because the two have worked together.
One coach willing to talk specifics was Hall of Famer, Hubie Brown. Under the belief that what’s new is old and vice versa, Casey and Brown got into detail with regard to play calls dating back to Brown’s coaching days with the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels.
Casey often emphasizes the importance of “finishing,” so its no surprise that a key area of improvement he identified for himself and his team was end of game situations. Toronto won a franchise-high 48 games last season, but was only 3-7 in contests decided by three points or less. They were just 7-13 in games decided by five points or less and 9-16 when the score was within three points with a minute remaining. And for you officiating conspiracy theorists, in that last scenario (plus or minus three points with a minute left), Toronto ranked in the bottom third of the league in three key categories: turnovers (28th in the league), fouls committed (second most) and free throws attempted (20th). Bottom line is better efficiency and productivity in close games is needed from the coach’s perspective.
“Are you always going to make mistakes and have hiccups [at the end of game]?” Casey asked. “You’re doggone right you are. I don’t care who you are—from Greg Poppovich down to Phil Jackson—we’ve all made mistakes. What I want to do is make sure we cut down on those mistakes and get better over the last six minutes.”
In truth, 2013-14 provided some bright spots for Casey and his team when it came to the end of games and stretch time. Casey remarked that the Raptors had the NBA’s best defense in the last six minutes of games. They also got lots of experience in close games, something that should help them in the coming campaign.
“It’s a matter of transferring that [strong defensive play] over to the offensive end,” Casey said. “It means me coaching better and our players maturing in those situations after going through them.”