Raptors Rapture
Fansided

Toronto Raptors vs Dwane Casey: Can coaches have revenge games?

By Chris Chiu

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors listens to assistant coach Nick Nurse against the Charlotte Hornets during NBA game action at Air Canada Centre on February 15, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors listens to assistant coach Nick Nurse against the Charlotte Hornets during NBA game action at Air Canada Centre on February 15, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors – Dwane Casey and Kyle Lowry (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

MEDIOCRITY AND GREATNESS: A RAZOR-THIN LINE

Casey was unceremoniously fired on May 11th following yet another extinction-level event in the playoffs at the hands of one Lebron James, despite taking the Raptors to new heights during his tenure.

As the winningest head coach for the Toronto Raptors, Casey reset the culture of the franchise by emphasizing winning culture, attitudes and habits, highlighted by five straight playoff appearances and four division titles in the past five years.

Most notably, his most recent, and his last, campaign in 2017-2018 was the year where all the puzzle pieces were supposed to fit together: a franchise-record 59-win season, the first team to clinch a coveted playoff spot, and Coach of the Year honours.

In this landmark season, it seemed that Casey had finally shaken off the doldrums of the stagnant, mid-2000s style of iso-ball heavy play that exposed the Raptors, especially during close games down the stretch.

By getting his team to buy in, he ushered the Raptors into the modern era, with more ball movement and three-point shooting, encouraging them to do their best Golden State Warriors impression — the gold standard for this era’s style of play.

Despite all these positive factors, Casey and the Raptors routinely fell apart in the playoffs, failing to deliver Toronto to the promise land year after year (after year). While regular season success is something to be proud about, if you’re a team flirting with the league’s upper echelon, the goal and expectations must be much greater.

The goal should be to win it all.

Failure to do so, in the eyes of a lot of fans and players themselves, is a wasted season. Just ask the 2015-2016 Warriors, who went 73-9 in the regular season, but couldn’t complete their historic season with a chip.

For these conflicting reasons, Casey’s exit will go down as one of the more ambivalent front-office decisions in recent years, especially for emotional Raptors fanbase that also saw the trading away of DeMar DeRozan, the team’s most loyal superstar, that same summer.

Home/Raptors News