There are many words that can be used to describe the Toronto Raptors’ playoff efforts. Disappointing, spineless, heartless, and disgusting would be a few. The Raps embarrassed Toronto and all their fans, and should be ashamed – plain and simple.
After having some time to clear my head after a disastrous game 4, it is clearer than ever that the playoff result shouldn’t actually be a surprise. Realistically, the Raptors probably should have got a game, maybe two – but bad luck and the referees prevented that. Regardless, the Raptors were outmatched, and would likely lose 75 out of 100 games against the Wizards if they played enough. They were simply the inferior team.
The thing is, the Raptors have been this way ever since the calendar turned 2015. Washington was able to see the Raptors’ problems, and with enough preparing were able to exploit them more and more as the series went on. Getting by in the regular season with flaws is easier as you typically only seen a team once or twice, but the Wiz really dug into the Raptors.
The majority of the basketball issues we saw from the Raptors were systematic. And ultimately, that has to come down to Dwane Casey and his staff.
I’ve been calling for Casey to be fired for years now, however winning certainly makes you forget. But given the circumstances, there isn’t much that one can say to justify keeping him around.
Lowry: “I respect Casey as a man. He’s a hell of a guy. At the end of the day, like I said, it’s not my choice. It’s not my decision.”
The success we saw earlier in the season was nothing but a result of the a hot streak from the Raptors’ guards, an easy schedule, and the fact team’s hadn’t figured out how to stop the Raptors simple offensive system. Given the simplicity of it and the failure to evolve the system, the unsustainability kicked in and inconsistent play became the story the rest of the way. Let’s talk about what was wrong with the Raptors this season.
Most fans have love for Lou Williams, however he was absolutely a negative to have around. The guy is what he is. An inconsistent chucker that can give you a serious boost when he’s on, or shoot you out of the game if you rely on him when he’s not. Last season, the Raptors’ third option was team play. After DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, the Raptors didn’t have the consistent go to guy as a third option. This actually worked well because it forced them to play team ball. With Lou as the third option, it was Rudy Gay all over again. This guy was given the green light to do whatever he wanted, no matter what the case was.
The ‘iso Lou’ BS was nauseating by the end of the year, and given the amount of shots he took it’s no wonder he was 6th man of the year. Casey takes the blame because Lou is going to do what he does, however thankfully his contract expires this summer.
The whole offense turned into an isolation-fest, particularly when the Raptors started falling behind in games. Iso’s make it easier for other teams defensively, and are ultimately too inconsistent unless you have LeBron James.
The offensive system Casey ran all year was absolutely atrocious. The up and down we saw
offensively was due to the fact that the Raptors heavily relied on DeRozan and Lowry to produce while playing hero-ball. Lowry’s downturn from MVP-form absolutely killed the Raptors, but it was the offensive dependence the Raptors had on him that likely burned him out.
Rebounding was identified as a key issue, with Jonas Valanciunas often being picked on by Raptors fans. However, the fact of the matter is that Greivis Vasquez and Lou cannot play a lick of defense, and it showed when they had to guard Wall and Beal in the 2nd and 3rd quarter of most games. The result was the Wizards’ guards getting into the paint with ease, forcing the interior defenders to help, putting them out of position for rebounds.
Casey refused to adjust the match-ups or switch to a zone. He was too stubborn to try James Johnson, use more Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Landry Fields – try something. Further, every single time the Wiz would set a screen the Raps would switch and it more often than not led to easy buckets. Defense is supposed to be Casey’s strength, and given how bad the Raptors were defensively this season…
Casey said himself that he thought JJ was the Raptors’ ‘most talented guy on the roster’. And yet, he played him for about 8 minutes this series. I’m mind-blown.
Casey: "The guy I feel for is James Johnson. He's probably the most talented guy on our roster", said he was the "odd man out"/not enough PT
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 27, 2015
Finally, strategically Casey is just poor. Timeout management, late game situations, rotations, and things that we saw from Randy Wittman of the Wizards such as match-up optimization just wasn’t part of Casey’s game plan as he stuck with the same garbage he always has. And yet, he has ‘no regrets’ over how he played the series.
Dwane Casey is a fantastic guy, however doesn’t have that ‘it’ factor. The Raptors need a coach that is better suited for this team – one that can develop JV, leverage strengths, and can adjust to the dynamics of playoff basketball. If Casey’s back next season, I honestly won’t be surprised. I’m used to it – I am a Raptors fan.
https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/592863468556017665
5 thoughts on “Keeping Dwane Casey is unjustifiable”
Hot take.
Scott Brooks and recruit Durant!
How does this POS have the audacity to say that about JJ and not even accept blame for not utilizing him. I hated how he kept highlighting “the positives” from the season. If they were accomplishments good enough to be highlighted, they should have translated into consistency and results. Both were a no no in this case and shows the flaws in his teetering system. Fire Casey!