Everything Dwane Casey

[Scraptor]

And another takeaway from Ujiri: The Raptors will be changing how they play and it sounds like Casey will get a chance to preside over that.

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 9, 2017

If true then Masai really does have no coherent long term strategy and is just making shit up as he goes along.

Good grief.

[Bendit]

If true then Masai really does have no coherent long term strategy and is just making shit up as he goes along.

Good grief.

Masai probably wants to investigate possible replacements and has the summer to change his mind rather than rock that boat right now. It does however look like he has had a conversation on change of approach to how the team plays already. I cant see that if the team does not show this change past the first qtr next season he probably gets chopped.

[rocwell]

[Chr1s1anL]

Toronto has walked that line as well as anybody in recent years. Only three clubs have won more regular season games over the last 24 months (Golden State, San Antonio, Cleveland) and only two have won more playoff games (Golden State, Cleveland). Meanwhile, the bottom half of their roster has been made up of rookies, sophomores and third-year players, most of which have produced when called upon, both at the NBA level and in the D-League, where Raptors 905 is coming off a championship season. It’s an underappreciated feat.

http://www.tsn.ca/raptors-camp-quest...ep-up-1.859507

Masai keeps retaining this guy for some stange reason....

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[golden]

Every off-season, it's the same thing. Yawn.......

I guess the Raps are admitting that DeMarre Carroll was right about passing and not trusting each other.

By July, when they committed to re-signing Lowry and Ibaka, the Raptors had decided to explore another way of squeezing a longer playoff run out of this roster.

“We figured we have to take advantage of this time and the players we have now,” said Ujiri. “And see what momentum we can build.”

Could they find upside in an established rotation that was built to win now? Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey believed they could. The secret was to watch the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics. The teams that moved the ball were making the most of their talent.

“One thing we have to do is become a better ball-moving team, a better passing team,” Casey said. “Sometimes we’ve got to pass the ball for the sake of passing -- just to get the ball from side to side.”

Time to ‘trust the pass’

For much of last season the Raptors ranked near the top of the NBA offensively, Casey noted. Then, as their defense tightened after the All-Star break, their offense struggled. An emphasis on sharing the ball could help bring the two ends of the court together.

“There are so many byproducts when you don’t pass the ball,” Casey said. “Guys are not as engaged defensively when they don’t touch the ball. There is something about touching the ball -- there’s energy because you’re involved. So sometimes you need to pass the ball for the sake of passing it.

“A guy like Serge, if he’s touching the ball, he feels part of everything on the offensive end, and then he goes down to the defensive end and he is engaged.”

The problem, as Ujiri and Casey both see it, is one-on-one play. Toronto finished last in assists at 18.5 per game -- roughly 60 percent of the Warriors’ league-leading output (30.4) -- in part because the point guard, Lowry, has taken on so much responsibility for carrying his team.

“Kyle is one of the smartest players in the league -- he understands what is a good shot, he understands our shot spectrum,” Casey said. “At the same time, he is such a competitor that a guy like him will try to take it on his own.

“By adding Serge, Jakob Poeltl or Jonas Valanciunas to space out and take a shot, there is going to be more space for Kyle to get it inside and kick it out. We need him and DeMar [DeRozan] both to take the pressure off themselves with the pass and trust the pass. And it is not a head-knocking thing. Kyle understands.”

DeRozan, Lowry must make others better

Leading scorers DeRozan (27.3 ppg last season) and Lowry (22.4) have expressed competitiveness rather than selfishness. Amid numerous roster changes -- DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson all departed, to be replaced by C.J. Miles and several younger Raptors working their way into the rotation -- Toronto’s next step is dependent on its All-Stars bringing out the best in teammates at a higher rate.

DeRozan’s passing has improved noticeably, while Lowry averaged 7.0 assists last season – all of which is to say that an overhaul of their games isn’t necessary. Making the extra pass will ultimately bring out the best in DeRozan and Lowry.

“We have to learn to trust others too,” Ujiri said. “You trust them that the ball will come back to you in some kind of way. That’s what trust does.”

The isolation style that ruled the NBA two decades ago can still be important at times, Ujiri noted. “But it has to really go your way. You can’t have an injury. You can’t have any setbacks in any way.”

Ujiri could see that DeRozan and Lowry were having to work too hard to create their own shots in the playoffs. “When the shots aren’t falling,” Casey said, “that’s when you’ve really got to concentrate on your passing, on making the extra pass, trusting the pass.”

http://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2...-offense-30910

[Chr1s1anL]

Every off-season, it's the same thing. Yawn.......

I guess the Raps are admitting that DeMarre Carroll was right about passing and not trusting each other.


http://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2...-offense-30910

I don't know how winning can get boring, but to each thier own.

Fuck Carrol, he got same amount of open shots here than he did in ATL. He is just washed and actually doesn't deserve a say. Start by making open shots before you starting talking.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[Nilanka]

Every off-season, it's the same thing. Yawn.......

I guess the Raps are admitting that DeMarre Carroll was right about passing and not trusting each other.


http://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2...-offense-30910

Article implies that this is a now-or-never year for the Raptors. Not sure I agree with our core locked up for 3 years.

[LJ2]

Every off-season, it's the same thing. Yawn.......

I guess the Raps are admitting that DeMarre Carroll was right about passing and not trusting each other.


http://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2...-offense-30910

I didn't catch when these quotes from Ujiri, Casey and DeRozan were provided but it sounds like it was recent so great to hear they are talking about passing this close to the start of the season. Seems much more likely when it's said at this point and not right after another playoff loss.

The more I read stuff like that the more I think JV is not part of the future. He sticks out like a sore thumb when they talk about how they want to play.

[Demographic Shift]

I didn't catch when these quotes from Ujiri, Casey and DeRozan were provided but it sounds like it was recent so great to hear they are talking about passing this close to the start of the season. Seems much more likely when it's said at this point and not right after another playoff loss.

The more I read stuff like that the more I think JV is not part of the future. He sticks out like a sore thumb when they talk about how they want to play.

Warts and all JV is the F22's best rebounder on both ends of the floor. Until there is an alternative with an actual track record of filling that production that Valanciunas puts up, JV pretty much stays.

Hope his offseason and training camp regimen was and will be to improve his mobility and speed up his decision making when he gets the ball and a double team comes. If he does that he will be a more valuable piece. Mix in his value as a top tier physical intimidator with the rebounding and JVs run as a Raptor may be longer than some think.

[Chr1s1anL]

I didn't catch when these quotes from Ujiri, Casey and DeRozan were provided but it sounds like it was recent so great to hear they are talking about passing this close to the start of the season. Seems much more likely when it's said at this point and not right after another playoff loss.

The more I read stuff like that the more I think JV is not part of the future. He sticks out like a sore thumb when they talk about how they want to play.

I don't think he is in their future plans. He will definitely be showcased throughout the season.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[Mess]

I don't think he is in their future plans. He will definitely be showcased throughout the season.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

lol I'm looking forward to 26 minutes a night of this "showcasing".

[Chr1s1anL]

lol I'm looking forward to 26 minutes a night of this "showcasing".

That's all up to JV. If he can prove not to be a liability he will get more.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[big boi]

Every off-season, it's the same thing. Yawn.......

I guess the Raps are admitting that DeMarre Carroll was right about passing and not trusting each other.


http://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2...-offense-30910

This is the most positive thing I’ve heard about the way this team wants to play in a long time. Of course I still don’t think that Casey is the guy to preside over this change but it does give me some satisfaction and a little optimism to hear him echo the concerns so many of us have had for years now. If Casey cannot focus on ball movement and stay focused on ball movement come hell or high water, then Masai should show him the door.

[golden]

This is the most positive thing I’ve heard about the way this team wants to play in a long time. Of course I still don’t think that Casey is the guy to preside over this change but it does give me some satisfaction and a little optimism to hear him echo the concerns so many of us have had for years now. If Casey cannot focus on ball movement and stay focused on ball movement come hell or high water, then Masai should show him the door.

It definitely feels like this season and playoffs is the one that Masai will use to judge the Lowry/Derozan/Casey core and make at least one major change to it in the 2018 off-season, if he's not satisfied.

[KeonClark]

It definitely feels like this season and playoffs is the one that Masai will use to judge the Lowry/Derozan/Casey core and make at least one major change to it in the 2018 off-season, if he's not satisfied.

You'd think so, but yet this is the 3rd offseason I've been seeing this statement conistently