So...Is Casey a Good Coach or a Bad Coach?

[The Great One]

Been a critic of DC since last year. But gotta give credit where credit is due. Casey has done a real GREAT job with this team since the trade. Keep it up coach!

[Eric Akshinthala]

I'm not sure what logic dictates this.

My post was an answer to this question so it's like the question is coming after the answer. Looks like we're misunderstanding each other. Ill try to make my point this way - Are you saying that in his 5th (2 in Min) year as Head Coach, he's winning only because he finally has a good team?

[psrs1]

In this case, I happen to think he is right. Coaches get too much credit and too much blame.

Doug Smith is persona non grata to many posters on RR.

[psrs1]

I'd like to see the Raptors for ONCE in a very long time hire an established Head Coach who has a proven track record of leading teams to Wins. Maybe not right now, but I'd be surprised if Casey managed to stick around.

I agree. I think MU is already thinking ahead to the coaching situation for the offseason.

[hateslosing]

Casey is an excellent coach. He supposedly coached the Mavs defense to a title and if you look at the improvement in our defense since he took over, it's night and day. Offensively he isn't as strong but I think a big part of that was having to negotiate the politics of having highly paid players who didn't buy us much in the way of wins. Since the Gay deal this offense looks more like what he always described in his interviews.

[special1]

Dwane Casey is clearly a good coach and needs the right players for his defensive system. I think its truly ignorant of some posters to try to take away credit from him.

He deserves credit for the development of both T Ross and JV. He has always kept them accountable and is giving them the minutes now that they earned their right to be on the floor. BOTH are getting better defensively wih each passing game.

I believe that players should earn their minutes on the floor. Both JV and Ross are blossoming before our eyes. It's amazing to see their growth!

[blackjitsu]

Maybe BC was bad at assembling basketball teams. Maybe DC was brought in to appease ownership, because the last decent coach the Raps had was a similar style guy in Sam Mitchell. The FO and Coaches are supposed to be in lock step. Obviously they were not. BC teams were built around hiding flaws. Masai constructed teams seem to promote the positive skills players bring to the table. What I've seen so far is merely a GM putting a team together that fits his head coach's system. THAT'S WHAT BC NEVER DID!

Is Casey a good coach? Sure. If a Van Gundy, or one of the star coaches becomes available does he keep his job? Probably not. But the players listen to him, after all the turmoil BC put them through. For all his flaws they listen, and for that single reason he should keep his job if the other options are mediocre retreads, college, or rookie head coaches. Casey is still frustrating, but he is proving that with a real FO he is a solid coach, who appears willing to learn on the fly.

[2KJ]

Gotta give the coach credit where it's due. When they traded Gay, most of us expected "Tank for Wiggins", with Casey as the Tank Commander. But not only did they started winning, they started to be fun to watch with hustle, teamwork and great ball movement on a young team w/ no all star. Reminded me of the Triano Raptors who were entertaining to watch but gave up as much on the defensive end. We beat really good teams as of late and dominated in must win games (except the Bobcats game), and he outcoached 2 of the really good coaches in the league on back to back nights (thibs and voegel).

His rotations are much better, he calls better timeouts and sets better plays, he trusts his young guns in the 4th quarter, and I was surprised when they showed the stat line of the Raptors being 3rd I believe in pt differential in the 4th q behind Indy and Miami, ahead of OKC, Clippers, etc!

This goes to the entire coaching staff and the GM Messiah of course.

I wouldn't give him an extension yet though, I don't want a Ron Wilson 2.0-extension wherein he was extended after a hot start and ended up missing the playoffs still. Looking good though moving forward. In Masai we trust.

[bryan colangelo]

Watched the post-game interviews. What I like about Casey is that he doesn't get too high or too low, and really emphasizes constant development and improvement, whether they win or lose. And it's obvious that the players have bought into that even-keeled temperment of just taking things one game at a time.

http://www.nba.com/raptors/video/pla...spacers_010114

[Miekenstien]

This goes to the entire coaching staff and the GM Messiah of course.

I wouldn't give him an extension yet though, Looking good though moving forward. In Masai we trust.

i agree with this. i think that as someone else said as well, that the way the team is playing right now is actually the way casey has explained he wanted his team to play on offense, more or less, the whole time. i believe he has done well and has been doing better as the team becomes more and more made up of players that follow his game plan.

as for the young guys, i don't think it is casey who has started trusting them, i think they have started trusting themselves. ross and bigV are playing within the game and not making major mistakes. casey got a lot of shit, on this forum, how he handles the young guys but everyone also gave shit when bargs was never held accountable. so hold them accountable but not too accountable? ross knows what he needs to do to stay on the floor and i don't think he wants to give up that starters job now. we need to see how ross reacts to a bad shooting night to see if he still brings the defense or he will get pulled and taught again.

[e_wheazhy_]

I agree. I think MU is already thinking ahead to the coaching situation for the offseason.

Maybe he's giving his buddy George Karl a ring as we speak


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[mountio]

Makes no sense, unless you're him and your job is to win games, which he's doing,,,,,,,, with consistent strong 4th qtr play. Damn, 3rd in the league for 4th qtr differential, but what he does makes no sense? Huh? You think Ross would push them to 1st? No.

Perhaps it makes no sense if Casey was trying to cater to your vision of what Ross needs, but let's be real. Your vision is based on far less NBA expertise, and far less knowledge of Ross's development, than his. In any case, it's been making sense if his job is to win games, and Salmons' better defense has been helping do just that.

Well ... last night we finally saw it. I have a feeling that we will be seeing more and more of TR down the stretch. The reality is, hes just a much, much better player than the alternatives. Casey seems to be improving in many ways - rotations are better, more court time for the young guys, timeouts are better and the team is playing super hard.

[stooley]

My post was an answer to this question so it's like the question is coming after the answer. Looks like we're misunderstanding each other. Ill try to make my point this way - Are you saying that in his 5th (2 in Min) year as Head Coach, he's winning only because he finally has a good team?

I think it's easy enough to explain the two years in Minnesota as a learning process. They were his first years as an NBA head coach, and I'd bet being part of the championship team in Dallas taught him quite a few lessons.

I think this roster fits his play style. Prior to the trade, there was absolutely no bench, which makes a coach's job way tougher. I'm not sure that that team WAS more talented on paper, the way you're saying.

I do agree he has seemed less than spectacular in the past. But I like what I'm seeing now. Smart time outs, great ball movement (and he claims he's always tried to preach that) and stingy defense, which is his signature.

Nurse was also brought in as an assistant to help develop some offensive sets, which may be helping on that front.

I'm not ready to nominate Casey to the HOF (obviously) but I'd like to see if he can keep us going in the right direction. I think Coaches can learn the same way that players can.

[S.R.]

Dwane Casey is clearly a good coach and needs the right players for his defensive system. I think its truly ignorant of some posters to try to take away credit from him.

He deserves credit for the development of both T Ross and JV. He has always kept them accountable and is giving them the minutes now that they earned their right to be on the floor. BOTH are getting better defensively wih each passing game.

I believe that players should earn their minutes on the floor. Both JV and Ross are blossoming before our eyes. It's amazing to see their growth!

This is a hot streak, but it's making a few things clear re: Casey:
- He was a bad fit with Colangelo. They like different types of players and clearly have different philosophies at a pretty foundational level. Kind of weird that Colangelo hired him and tried to give him the right roster.
- Ujiri's an evil genius who has given Casey a 9 man rotation he likes.
- Casey's rotation has settled down so quickly that you really do wonder how many of his wacky substitution patterns prior were because guys weren't executing the basics of the game plan. The poor execution and then the subsequent questionable rotations were sort of a double-whammy that reflected poorly on the coach, but in hindsight may have been more of a personnel issue.
- It's just a basic difference of philosophies re: developing young guys: Option 1 is let them play through everything so they get the minutes and learn on the fly; Option 2 is give them limited minutes, make them earn crunch time responsibilities, and give them the hook for certain mistakes. Every coach does one or the other, Casey's an Option 2 guy and the fans that don't like it are Option 1. I think the difference is neither here nor there - playing through benefits some players and develops bad habits with the lack of accountability in others. Limited minutes and a quick hook motivates some players to focus, concentrate on their role, and execute the game plan in a quest to earn more minutes from the coach, while the irregular minutes and quick hook rattle some guys, lower their confidence, and don't let them settle into a rhythm in their role.

Here's the elephant in the room - if the Raps attain the new best case scenario, finish 3rd or 4th and have a strong showing before being eliminated in the 2nd round, how much pressure is there to retain Casey? Can Ujiri go with a different coach if the season finishes out with the current team synergy we're seeing?

[planetmars]

Haven't read the entire thread.. but is it possible that Casey's bad coaching was an attempt at a stealth tank commanded by Ujiri? And now that Gay is gone and the team is rallying that Ujiri has told Casey to coach to win properly?

LOL... probably not the case, but I always like a good Conspiracy theory.