A Case for a Casey-less Culture Reset on the Raptors

Coaches are a little like Uncle Phil in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  They are the backbones of a family. Through regulation, they keep their team intact. They help resolve conflicts and do not allow powerful personalities to take over.

Coaches disappear in the background much like Uncle Phil. Fans often forget or under-appreciate coaches. Instead, the Will Smith’s of the world get all the attention, whether it be praise or criticism.

The role of coaches however in the success of their team is paramount. There has not been a single team in the history of the NBA that did not have a good coach. Coaches play a role in creating and defining a culture to varying degrees.

Some coaches may have reaped the rewards of star talent more than others. However, a good culture has always remained apparent.

For this reason, coaches have difficult jobs. They play a major role in creating and defining culture. Though, once they develop a culture and identity, it often sticks with them.

For a select few coaches, this can be great. The head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, quickly established his identity. He got the reputation of a coach whose team spaces the floor, shares the ball and plays for each other. That identity is unlikely to change barring the improbable case he chooses to coach another team.

On the other hand, most coaches are plagued by the culture and identity that they originally create.

Dwane Casey falls into this category.

Dwane Casey was the defensive guru behind the historic Dallas Mavericks Championship run in 2011 before manning the Raptors.

After that success, Casey leveraged a head coaching gig with the Raptors.

And although Casey has played a part in the success of the Raptors to an extent, he has not been elite either.

Let’s explore the three major reasons Casey needs to go.

Wonky Rotation

Analysts have long criticized Casey’s rotations. Specifically, Casey relies too heavily on Lowry and DeRozan, doesn’t seem to trust his bench and fails to give some notable players more run.

Per ESPN, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan ranked among the top 15 in minutes per game. They ranked 2nd and 13th respectively. The only duo to play more minutes in the league was the Timberwolves’ youthful tandem of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

Casey also put forth a bench that was near the bottom of the league in scoring, putting up a weak 31.8 points per game. When bench players tend to catch fire or helps the team come back from a deficit, Casey sees it as a signal to insert his starters back in.

Finally, Coach Case does not seem to realize the potential that some of his players could have. in turn, he limits the minutes of potential key contributors.

Norm Powell and Jonas Valanciunas are both players with huge upside but are not receiving the minutes that they deserve. Norm Powell played limited minutes these past two years, as Casey inserted an inconsistent Terrence Ross and DeMarre Carroll before him. Jonas Valunciunas often saw the bench as his reward for good play.

JV also has not got minutes late in games. This has come despite being on a presence on the defensive end, being a threat off pick and rolls and down-low, and being a above average free throw shooter at the center spot.

Lack of Quality Sets

Along the same lines, Jonas Valanciunas has not realized his potential in large part because there has been a lack of quality sets.

Dwane Casey does not like to run a lot of plays for JV. My belief is that if you have a quality big man, it is imperative to utilize him and give him touches. In this way, the Raps punish teams that play small ball. The result is a  game that is played on one’s own terms.

More confidence from JV would help him to buy in more fully in the defensive end and on the glass.

Casey is perfectly content with an offense predicated on isolation basketball. He has not created sets consisting of ball and player movement. As such, role players stand around. All players become spectators to a DeRozan isolation or a Kyle Lowry pick and roll.

In addition, Casey has not bought into the era of pace and space either. In this way, Casey does not want to pound teams down low nor does he seem comfortable letting threes fly.

Casey must evaluate his personnel and opt to do at least one of these things. The New Orleans Pelicans, with arguably the league’s two best big men, might opt to go with the former route. They should pound teams down low to such an extent that small ball teams are forced to play bigger.

On the other hand the Golden State Warriors, have a plethora of shooters at each position. Therefore, they dominate with small ball lineups and force teams to run with them.

In my opinion, the best bet for the Raptors might be to play small. With the addition of C.J. Miles, the Raps have two elite three- point gunners in him and Kyle Lowry. Serge Ibaka is also effective at spacing the floor as a big-man.

Defensive Woes

The Raps have posted  a negative defensive rating relative to the league in all but two of six seasons in which Dwane Casey has been the coach of the Raptors

The blame should be put on Casey at some point because defensive issues have persisted over a long period.

Instead, Casey has seemed to opt to try to outscore opponents. This idea might be fine if you have the firepower of the Warriors. For 99% of teams, it is not a smart way to play. A coach who puts more emphasis on defense might be a better fit for the Raps.

Conclusion

Building a culture and identity in the NBA is a bit like getting gum stuck in you hair. It is is relatively quick and easy to do, but more tedious and frustrating to get it out.

Dwane Casey has built a reputation on isolation basketball, an over-reliance on star players, a reluctance to develop key pieces and a lack of effort on the defensive end.

The game changes but identity sticks. Mike D’Antoni, the current coach of the Houston Rockets, introduced the seven seconds or less run and gun system with the Phoenix Suns.

At the time, D’Antoni faced many skeptics and critcs. However, the game evolves and now this era of three point bombs, pick and rolls and small ball lineups has become the recipe for championships.

Unfortunately, Dwane Casey’s identity as a coach is one that includes star players getting all the touches and role players feeling left out. His identity has become a coach that does not care too much about defense.

Consequently, it has created a culture or at least created the perception that people are playing for themselves rather than for each other. Because of this, big names do not want to play for Toronto.

A culture reset needs fresh faces all around and a new start. A culture reset cannot consist of Coach Casey.

Only then, can a culture reset be done right.

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