Everything Dwane Casey

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Look if Dwane Casey gets fired after winning Coach of the Year mostly due to losing to Lebron, it really is a blow across the back to other coaches jobs. If Casey can get fired, what are other coaches supposed to do to keep theirs short of being Pop/Stevens.

It's like the requirement for coaches job security in the NBA is to be a top 5 coach on earth. No player or referee is held to that kind of standard.

(Don't be an NBA Coach, kids.)

He won't be getting fired for losing to Cleveland this season. He'll be getting fired for 5 years of playoff ineptitude, where you could argue that good teams won in the regular season because they were good teams, not specifically because of his coaching (with many examples of games that were explicitly lost due to highly questionable tactical coaching decisions).

2014 - lost in game 7 of round 1, on a final play that he drew up on the wrong side of the court

2015 - got swept in round 1, as a higher seed (first time in NBA history, I believe)

2016 - lost in round 3, after going to 7 games in both round 1 and round 2, against teams they should have dispatched far more decisively (JV singlehandedly bailed them out of round 1)

2017 - got swept in round 2

2018 - got swept in round 2, as the #1 seed (first time in NBA history)


Defend Casey all you want, but don't try to change the narrative by writing off the 'fire Casey' crowd as being irrational or over-reacting. Calling for Casey's head has been 5 years in the making.

[Other Scott]

He won't be getting fired for losing to Cleveland this season. He'll be getting fired for 5 years of playoff ineptitude, where you could argue that good teams won in the regular season because they were good teams, not specifically because of his coaching (with many examples of games that were explicitly lost due to highly questionable tactical coaching decisions).

2014 - lost in game 7 of round 1, on a final play that he drew up on the wrong side of the court

2015 - got swept in round 1, as a higher seed (first time in NBA history, I believe)

2016 - lost in round 3, after going to 7 games in both round 1 and round 2, against teams they should have dispatched far more decisively (JV singlehandedly bailed them out of round 1)

2017 - got swept in round 2

2018 - got swept in round 2, as the #1 seed (first time in NBA history)


Defend Casey all you want, but don't try to change the narrative by writing off the 'fire Casey' crowd as being irrational or over-reacting. Calling for Casey's head has been 5 years in the making.

Yeah, but Casey also has maybe had a top 20 player on his team one of those years (Kyle Lowry in 2016). Championship teams typically need at least 2 with one in the top 5. I'm not thinking this team's ceiling is a championship even with one of those so-called "championship coaches".

I'm a fire Casey agnostic at this point, I won't be heartbroken if they do. They probably feel as if they have to do something just to re-energize the fanbase. I'm certainly not calling them irrational.

I was just approaching it from the perspective of the coaches around the league, where this would just be a blow to their general job security perception which is on thin ice as it is just by nature of the job. If Casey can go after being COTY, it's further proof that it doesn't matter how many wins you get with the team you have, if you're team isn't skilled enough to make it in the playoffs you're the one who's going to take the fall.

EDIT: Also, saying that success in the regular season is due to talent but failures in the playoffs is due to Casey is incredibly unfair.

[LJ2]

Dwane Casey is top 4 in the NBA for tenure, only Pop, Carlisle, and Spo have had their jobs longer. They've all won championships, Casey's been past the 2nd round once.

LOL, this actually made me laugh out loud.

[Scraptor]

Congrats to Casey for winning the HCA coach of the year. He deserved it.

I wonder how much this will tie Masai's hands.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

EDIT: Also, saying that success in the regular season is due to talent but failures in the playoffs is due to Casey is incredibly unfair.

Unfair perhaps, but not necessarily untrue.

Good teams are going to win there fair share of games against bad teams, for no other reason that the fact they are a superior team with superior talent.

In the playoffs, when only the good teams are left standing, much more credit/responsibility falls on the coaches than in the regular season. When you see an otherwise competitive team losing badly because of poor preparation, poor in-game tactical decisions, and a team playing with no heart or determination, that is all on the coach. The last point certainly looks bad on the players too, but one of the primary responsibilities of a coach is to motivate his team to play, so when players surrender that is a tell-tail sign that the coach has lost the dressing room.

[Other Scott]

I think it's absolutely untrue because the implication is that the only or most important part of a head coaches job is tactical adjustments.

I would say the players need no additional motivation from a coach to play in the playoffs, they know what's at stake. I don't think motivation has been the Raptors issue in the playoffs. If anything the regular season shows that Casey is excellent at keeping the team motivated.

[magoon]

Serious question:

Casey is highly respected around the league and there are still multiple coaching positions open. What's the feasibility of the Raptors trading Casey to another team for a draft pick (a la Doc Rivers to the Clippers in 2013)? If Casey wins COY, this might make a lot more sense for both sides rather than firing him.

[KeonClark]

Congrats to Casey for winning the HCA coach of the year. He deserved it.

I wonder how much this will tie Masai's hands.

The one thing it WILL do (assuming he gets fired) is put a slight bulls eye on masai for the first time in his tenure. If you replace him and it blows up in your face

[JimiCliff]

The one thing it WILL do (assuming he gets fired) is put a slight bulls eye on masai for the first time in his tenure. If you replace him and it blows up in your face

It's another reason I don't expect anything to happen before next season starts. GMs don't get an unlimited number of coaching changes. Every one you make brings you closer to your own end.

[Nilanka]

The one thing it WILL do (assuming he gets fired) is put a slight bulls eye on masai for the first time in his tenure. If you replace him and it blows up in your face

Honestly, I think the bullseye is there no matter what. Whichever decision Masai makes this summer (whether firing Casey, or retaining him), will be heavily scrutinized going forward.

[KeonClark]

Honestly, I think the bullseye is there no matter what. Whichever decision Masai makes this summer (whether firing Casey, or retaining him), will be heavily scrutinized going forward.

Or even the roster moves (or lack of) He's out of selling points really. This is a very crucial junction in this era of raps

[JimiCliff]

Honestly, I think the bullseye is there no matter what. Whichever decision Masai makes this summer (whether firing Casey, or retaining him), will be heavily scrutinized going forward.

Scrutinized by who?

[Nilanka]

Scrutinized by who?

Ownership.

[Other Scott]

Serious question:

Casey is highly respected around the league and there are still multiple coaching positions open. What's the feasibility of the Raptors trading Casey to another team for a draft pick (a la Doc Rivers to the Clippers in 2013)? If Casey wins COY, this might make a lot more sense for both sides rather than firing him.

Full on coach trade. Mavs get Casey who won a championship as an assistant an oversaw the Raptors develop from a 30 win team to a 60 win team, exactly the jump the Mavs are trying to make. There's more uncertainty with how Carlisle is able to handle player improvements and progressions and keep everything and everyone onboard in the face of losing seasons.

The Raps get Rick Carlisle, the better tactician and someone who might be a creative enough new voice to maybe have ideas on how to use the many pieces the Raptors have and position them in a place to overcome bad matchups in a 7 game series.

Mavs will say no, but it's worth a try.

[JimiCliff]

Ownership.

I don't see it. Years of sold-out arenas, unprecedented run of success that most franchises would be envious of, all the while building a stock of young talent that's more desirable than what the average tanking team nets after multiple seasons of losing.