#Don'tFireCasey

[Just Is]

Putting JJ on Pierce seemed like an obvious one too.

So obvious that the fans in the arena were actually chanting for it. I'm not even making that one up.

[white men can't jump]

Not saying you're wrong about this, but do you have a quotation?

He said it in his post season presser. It was pretty well discussed around here at that time.

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[Axel]

He said it in his post season presser. It was pretty well discussed around here at that time.

Which is shorthand for it was pretty bat shit crazy to say and people were wild about.

Imagine how it would have been handled if anyone actually expected Casey back this year.

[Just Is]

Not saying you're wrong about this, but do you have a quotation?

I can do you one better.

Not only can I provide the quotation...I can provide you the actual video. You know...for context.

“What was missing?” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey asked. “Our defence. I think we got better offensively. We worked ad nauseam at the beginning of training camp to be better offensively to play with a little bit of pace, probably too much pace for my liking or for your defence’s liking. I thought our defence suffered from it, from us getting better offensively.”

What still confuses me ... is if there was nothing done in regards to the offense...why was the defense so garbage? And also, this was a few pages back but, it was brought up that we were the one of the worst defensive teams during the season and playoffs. Not included was that we were also the worst offensive team.

There was a DAMN lot that Casey could have done but didn't. I don't even know how this could be written off. Specially that Lowry was hurt during the playoffs...the guy was playing hurt for since just before the All Star break. And it was pretty visually clear.

And the whole idea that Washington was better? That's just BS. There's a reason we were the projected favourites in that series ... and that's even before we take into account us sweeping them during the actual season.

[slaw]

He said there was "a lot" Casey could have done about it. I disagree. There were a few things that could've influenced whether Lowry got injured or not, but it's not like there was some sort of laundry list of different things he could've done that he didn't do.

At the end of the day injuries are something that is difficult to explain in the NBA. It's possible that Lowry's problems last year could've been a result of simply not having his body conditioned well enough to handle a heavy load? Maybe that's why he decided to get himself in better shape in the offseason. He's average more minutes and more usage than last year and hasn't really showed any signs of slowing down yet.

There's this narrative here that heavy minutes are what causes injuries, and I haven't really seen any proof of that idea, while on the other hand there is a fair bit of evidence to the contrary (going back and looking at the guys who've played the heaviest minutes per game in the league every year, there doesn't appear to be much correlation between that and getting injured).

So saying that I can't argue against it or debate it isn't correct at all.

There is a correlation between time spent playing and injury risk but it isn't anywhere near as simple as DanH makes it out to be. There is an entire field of study on risk of injury in sports and it is extremely complicated and findings are often highly controversial because of the fact it is so difficult to control for variables, etc. There was another thread a while back where people (I can't remember who but I remember the thread) were suggesting that a 10% reduction in playing time would result in a 10% reduction in the risk of injury and trying to figure out how that played out over a game, a season - it doesn't work like that.

[KeonClark]

There is a correlation between time spent playing and injury risk but it isn't anywhere near as simple as DanH makes it out to be. There is an entire field of study on risk of injury in sports and it is extremely complicated and findings are often highly controversial because of the fact it is so difficult to control for variables, etc. There was another thread a while back where people (I can't remember who but I remember the thread) were suggesting that a 10% reduction in playing time would result in a 10% reduction in the risk of injury and trying to figure out how that played out over a game, a season - it doesn't work like that.

Well, now I can die knowing I read DanH and "simple" in the same sentence

[JimiCliff]

One of the more interesting questions left in the season is if/when Toronto changes its starting lineup. Getting smoked every game.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 25, 2016

[CalgaryRapsFan]

It goes beyond the injury risk/prevention discussion though.

A complete lack of an offensive system, and a defensive system that was ill-suited for the personnel and asked everybody to literally scramble, was a recipe for disaster.

Relying on 4 guards to ISO their way to success in the playoffs was a recipe for disaster, regardless of health.

Asking other players to step up in the playoffs (once the previous concern came to obvious fruition), when they were barely utilized throughout the regular season, was a recipe for disaster.

All season, through the good times and bad, many posters and media reporters/experts/insiders were running around like chicken little, proclaiming the failure that the playoffs were doomed to be. Those people were met with guffaws, as the 'greatest regular season in franchise history' argument was thrown around as the be all and end all of analysis (you know, since us lowly posters aren't NBA coaches).

You know what happened in the playoffs last year? The sky fell.

Casey absolutely could have done a better job preventing the health issues and preparing his team, and absolutely could have made more effective adjustments in the series and within each game.

[Just Is]

One of the more interesting questions left in the season is if/when Toronto changes its starting lineup. Getting smoked every game.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 25, 2016

So now that someone in the basketball has said what has been being said here for ... well pretty much the entire season ... is it still considered stupid to bring this up?

[Barolt]

So now that someone in the basketball has said what has been being said here for ... well pretty much the entire season ... is it still considered stupid to bring this up?

If we get into an ECF series against the Cavs, we simply cannot surrender the first 4-6 minutes of every half like we're doing nightly right now.

[JWash]

Well, now I can die knowing I read DanH and "simple" in the same sentence

Well just because you're going into detail on part of the issue doesn't mean you're not oversimplifying the broader issue.

[KeonClark]

One of the more interesting questions left in the season is if/when Toronto changes its starting lineup. Getting smoked every game.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 25, 2016

Another basement dwelling Internet fan trying to tell dwane what to do!?

[JWash]

Is Zach Lowe a Raptors fan? He talks about us a lot more than other teams it seems like.

[Just Is]

Is Zach Lowe a Raptors fan? He talks about us a lot more than other teams it seems like.

His wife is from Toronto (if I recall correctly).

[Barolt]

Is Zach Lowe a Raptors fan? He talks about us a lot more than other teams it seems like.

We're an interesting team for a lot of statistical reasons. We win a lot of games, but are a statistical outlier in a lot of categories.