Much of the crowd reaction of those leaving the Air Canada Centre on Saturday was doom and gloom following the Toronto Raptors’ collapse in game 1 of their series versus the Indiana Pacers. Surprisingly—or not—the fans seemed to feel the result was the fault of one man: Dwane Casey.
The team was too rusty and shouldn’t have rested players down the stretch, they said; DeMarre Carroll should have started on Paul George; Jonas Valanciunas should have sat longer when in foul trouble.
Many scenarios were thrown out as to why Toronto lost their 7th straight playoff game and they were all Casey’s doing. Dwane Casey, they surmised, simply isn’t fit to lead this team.
What they left out was that the Raptors lost because their best players didn’t play their best and they missed shots they normally make, end of story.
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In the 2015 playoffs Kyle Lowry scored 12.3 points per game on 32% shooting. Against Washington a year ago DeMar DeRozan was a bit better averaging 20.3 points on 40 percent from the floor. In game 1 Lowry scored just 11 points on 3-13 shooting and DeRozan had 14 points on 5-19 shooting. No coach is winning when their best two players struggle.
Casey’s fault you say? You can’t criticize him for failing to get the most of his stars in the playoffs but fail to give him credit for their growth and accomplishments during the season.
This year Lowry averaged 21.2 points, 42.7 FG%, 38.8 3 point percentage to go with 6.4 assists. DeMar DeRozan had 23.5 points. 44.6 FG% and 4.5 rebounds a night in 2015-16. They became all-stars under Casey’s tutelage not despite it.
No better example of Casey’s adaptability is him gaining the trust to allow Kyle Lowry added freedom on offence in return for his engaged defence. This year Lowry was one of eight players in the NBA to make 200 plus threes.
This is a player’s league. You win and lose with the talent you have. The coach’s main job is to create the culture to turn that individual talent until a cohesive winner. Casey might not be there yet but you can’t argue that he hasn’t helped drag the franchise in the right direction in that accord.
It’s why Dwane Casey should be the Raptors’ head coach next year—and beyond—regardless of how the first round series versus Indiana turns out. Casey has proven he is the best man for the job and should be given an extension to keep his well earned spot. More importantly there is a dearth of more inspiring coaching choices on the market to replace him. Team’s who have made similar knee jerk reactions are finding that out the hard way.
Under Casey the Raptors won the Atlantic division for the third straight time this season, the fifth straight since he came to town that their record has improved. This is the first time the franchise has ever won 50 games and he’s the winningest coach in franchise history. Your response to literally the best position the program has ever been would be to start from scratch with someone else? That won’t make this team better.
The Sacramento Kings have had eight coaches since 2007. None have had a winning record. They have literally changed so much they are stuck in neutral with constant tinkering but in a purgatory of losing.
The Chicago Bulls parted ways with Tom Thibodeau because they felt Fred Hoiberg was going to bring a more fluid offence and greener pastures. How’d that work out? A team many picked to make the Eastern Conference Finals missed the playoffs.
Was the Thunder’s late game closing issues made any better now that Scott Brook’s has been set aside for Billy Donovan? The grass isn’t always greener.
Often we run out of ideas and excuses so we cast our blame on the coach and remove him from the situation. It is not only lazy and misguided but it is ineffective. How often when playoff teams remove their coach do they get better? History shows the better course is to stick to your convictions and patience rather than pragmatism.
Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich were given ample time to find themselves in their roles before they became championship coaches. They also had multiple Hall-of Fame players at their disposal.
Unlike many current coaches, Casey isn’t a caddy. He coaches guys and demands excellence while earning the respect of his players. That’s a skill that shouldn’t be overlooked.
What should be overlooked is the chatter that Dwane Casey chokes as a coach in the playoffs. It was his defensive schemes that were the single biggest reason the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in 2011—a series the Mavericks were down 1-0 in, by the way. At that point the narratives were all very similar. Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t a clutch player and Rick Carlisle wasn’t an elite coach. How wrong the skeptics were, in hindsight.
Casey constantly tells his teams don’t look for help from officials, fight through contact, and trust each other. The fan base should take his advice.