Toronto Raptors‘ fans have asked themselves this same question numerous times already, that I am sure of. However I just can’t help myself from opening this can of worms all over again and figuring out whether Dwane Casey is truly the right head coach for the Raptors’ long term. Consistency in positions of power is something the Raptors have almost never had, and it’s been mainly in the coaching department because they haven’t done a whole lot of winning in the past. Casey is one of the main reasons why the philosophies of the team are starting to change for the better, and I understand that Ujiri couldn’t afford to lose that.
Not taking anything away from Dwane Casey, who over this past season (2014-2015) led the team to finish with a franchise best record of 49-33. The previous year (2013-2014) he also led the team to a 48-34 record, the second Atlantic Division title in franchise history and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. In 2012-13, things looked entirely different as the team finished last in their division. They missed the postseason by four games, wrapping up an underwhelming year with a sub-par record of 34-48. However, numbers don’t lie, and these digits show a steady incline for Dwayne Casey in terms of wins, but what I’ve also learned over the years of watching basketball is to look beyond the numbers, so this begs the question; has Dwane Casey taken this team about as far as he’s capable of taking it? There’s plenty more to consider. But just understand that the off-season mantra so far is this: Defence.
Why Was Dwane Casey Brought To Toronto?
A former head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves (53-69 overall, 20-20 in 2007 when he was fired), Casey has worked as an assistant for a handful of accomplished NBA head coaches; George Karl, Nate McMillan and his last stint was with Rick Carlisle in Dallas. With that experience under these great coaches Casey became known for his ability to implement a more often than not, consistent and good defensive system, a quality that the Raptors truly didn’t know even existed. Before he came, the Raptors had never been a team with a reputation for having any sort of identity, let alone be hard-nosed or successful at the defensive end of the floor.
He is generally credited with instituting one of the most effective zone defenses in the league with the Mavericks, a move that helped them get past Portland, the Lakers, Oklahoma City and Miami en route to the franchise’s first NBA championship. The head-scratcher here though is that his famously touted defense didn’t do the Raptors any favors against the Washington Wizards in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. The Raptors dominated the match-up with the Washington Wizards, pulling off a 3-0 win-loss record during the regular season. But once the playoffs started the team got swept in embarrassing fashion; 4 games to zilch.
“Playoffs,” as Wizards forward Paul Pierce said, “is a different game.”
How Good Of a Coach Is Dwane Casey
Is Casey the best coach in the NBA? Hell to the no, obviously not. But is he the worst? Again, it is safe to say, no. In the current coaching ranks of the NBA, Casey does remain to be a solid coach. However, in ESPN’s annual (I think it’s annual) coach ranking, they have Dwane Casey ranked 13th in the NBA. It isn’t a case of just rewarding teams with winning records either, as Randy Wittman’s sitting down at 26th despite having swept us in the playoffs. *Shaking my head (who does these rankings?).
In his four seasons in Toronto, Casey has led the Raptors to a 154-158 record in the regular season, and a 3-8 record in two consecutive trips to the playoffs. He has also led the Raptors to a franchise record for victories in two straight years. Despite that, this year was a disappointing one for both Casey and the Raptors. After a brilliant start, the Raptors merely split the final 50 games on their regular-season schedule. Also, the Raptors finished 23rd in points allowed per possession, the worst of any team that made the post-season. (what happened to the defense?) Toronto also finished ninth in the same category in 2013-14 (defense anyone?). The playoffs were a disaster like previously mentioned, with the Wizards easily exposing the Raptors’ flaws on both ends of the floor.
“I take accountability not establishing the offensive style of play we should have. … We had a false sense of security because we were winning playing that way after DeMar [DeRozan] went down,” Casey said after the season ended. “We never got back to our roots defensively. We never could get the horse back in barn.”
One great stat to look at from the 2013-2014 season is that the Raptors were the only team in the league to not lose a game by 20 or more points all season. This past year though (2014-2015), they’ve been easily blown out on multiple occasions. The numbers back up the main point in all of this, that the Raptors have regressed heavily on the defensive end of the floor, once again the end that’s supposed to be Casey’s trump card.
What’s Next Now That Masai Uriji Has Chosen To Keep Casey For Another Season?
It’s definitely true that Casey is a good above par coach who just led the Raptors to consecutive franchise-record seasons of 48 and 49 wins. But all of that means little when you remember that Ujiri, back when he was GM in Denver, fired head coach George Karl less than a month after Karl won the NBA coach of the year award on the heels of a 57-win campaign. Karl’s ultimate sin was? He couldn’t win in the playoffs.
Uriji made an upgrade at the small forward position with the Demarre Carrol signing, mainly because of Terrence Ross’s defensive deficiencies and lack of effort offensively have been, ahem, chronic. At power forward? Amir Johnson’s ankles are the reason we let him limp away to Boston, and Tyler Hansbrough has time and time again illustrated a talent to get under practically everyone’s skin. And who doesn’t love Patrick Patterson, he just does everything right in my biased opinion. But at centre? If this past season has proven anything, it’s that Jonas Valanciunas is mighty slow laterally, and watching him defend a pick and roll is truly cringe worthy. The signings of Corey Joseph and Bismack Biyombo on the other hand, all fit into Casey’s defensive resume so it’s evident that he now has the pieces in play to do what many Raptors fans pray he can do; win a playoff series (possibly two). He also has the support he needs behind him on the bench in terms of more seasoned, polished and experienced assistant coaches.
Truth is, you really have to applaud Ujiri’s plan here, and the role Casey has within it. It’s one thing to make a team competitive, as they have, and quite another to make it a championship-pedigree team. Both men understand this, just as they both understand that once a team’s true title window opens, you have a limited amount of time to work with before it shuts right in your face. Casey is the most successful coach in Raptors’ history, but he is clearly not the one to take this franchise to a title. He’s the man for right now, the one who’ll do the job upfront while Ujiri assembles a team in the background ready for the next step.
The most obvious fact that I’ve learned in relation to this, is that there is no such thing as a “perfect” coach. If you’re expecting perfection 100 percent of the time, you’re not being realistic. This is a learning process for everyone as the Raptors and Dwane Casey continue to evaluate talent and create a well-oiled machine capable of winning championships. Casey will become only the second Raptor coach to start five consecutive seasons as the team’s head coach. Sam Mitchell was the other. He was ultimately fired 17 games into the 2008-09 season. Casey will surely hope not to repeat that history heading into the 2015/2016 season.
