ESPN Ranked Dwane Casey the 13th Best Coach in the NBA This Season

According to ESPN’s Forecast Panel of some 200 members, Dwane Casey is the 13^th best coach in the NBA this season. If you are anything like me, your first thought was probably something along the lines of “What???”, followed by an impromptu spit-take and cynical laughter.

But, as crazy as it sounds, there may actually be seventeen worse head coaches than Casey. Let’s take a look.

Houston’s Kevin McHale, in my opinion, should not be ranked lower than Casey. Sure, he has James Harden, who’s making a good case for the MVP this year. But the Rockets are still 3^rd in the West and that comes from running a coherent team, not just the efforts of one player.

Jan 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale (L) talks to guard James Harden (13) against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

OKC’s Scott Brooks is another coach I’m not sure if Casey is better than. ESPN has Brooks ranked at 20, which is way too low. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have only played 27 and 57 games, respectively, out of a possible 72. The Thunder also collect the most rebounds per game—teams don’t luck their way into rebounds. That comes from effort from the players, which is a sign of Brooks’ ability to extract effort from his players regardless of the circumstances. Oklahoma City is poised to make the playoffs in the extremely tough Western Conference; Brooks should be ranked much higher than 20^th.

Weirdly enough, those are the only coaches that one can make an argument deserve to ranked higher than Casey.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ success has largely been a product of their talent and their front office’s ability to bring in key pieces. On a side note, how great has Timofey Mozgov been? I’m not sure if David Blatt has had much influence over the Cavaliers progress this season.

Every other coach doesn’t even have a case against Casey—this season.

Which really comes as a shock. Casey has been bad this year. It’s been painful to watch. There have been many decisions he has made that a lot of fans have been unhappy with—Valanciunas’ and JJ’s minutes, the lack of creativity on offense, using a defensive scheme that the players can’t play in—but taking an objective view at it, there are many worse coaches than Casey. Guys like Steve Clifford, Lionel Hollins, and Randy Wittman have disappointed. James Borrego and Melvin Hunt are both interim coaches. Byron Scott came a generation too late to the coaching scene. Derek Fisher… let’s just try to forget anything related to the Knicks.

Having Dwane Casey as a head coach turns out to be not the worst thing in the world.

That doesn’t change the fact I still think Casey should be gone this season. I don’t think he’s fit to be a head coach and I think the Raptors have hit their ceiling with Casey holding the reins.

But hey, he’s not the worst!

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