Dwayne Casey Axed

[Fred Roberts]

Historically terrible organizations suddenly experiencing reasonable success, can't have nice things.

Terrible firing. Who's going to be better? Players caved. Froze. No balls. Not his fault they choked.

[slamtheking]

not really surprised after that sweep and total domination by Cleveland.  Bigger issue is the roster but firing a coach is easier.

The Raptors lost 10 straight playoff games against the Cavaliers in consecutive seasons. That's what truly got him axed.

that's the history that strengthens the case.  to elaborate, my point is that the sweep this year was the straw that broke the camel's back.  they were the #1 seed comfortably this past season.  no excuse for such a p----poor performance against Cleveland this year

[Ogaju]

Just for some perspective, if the Celts had run into Lebron in the second round we might be fishing as well. I don't think stevens would have been fired things might look different than they do now.

Or cavs could be fishing...see how that works.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I still don't understand what Casey did to deserve that Coach of the Year recognition from his peers.

Nor do I.

Russillo pointed out on his podcast that NBA coaches tend to feel that awards should be given first to the team that won more games (coaches are often reluctant to vote guys on losing teams to the All-Star game), so they may have voted for Casey ahead of Stevens by default because Casey's team got the #1 seed ahead of the Celts.

If that's true that coaches think that way, they're being silly. Casey had no major obstacles to overcome this season, and Brad had lots. Besides, by the logic Russillo mentions, D'Antoni should've won, not Casey.

[SparzWizard]

I still don't understand what Casey did to deserve that Coach of the Year recognition from his peers.

Nor do I.

Russillo pointed out on his podcast that NBA coaches tend to feel that awards should be given first to the team that won more games (coaches are often reluctant to vote guys on losing teams to the All-Star game), so they may have voted for Casey ahead of Stevens by default because Casey's team got the #1 seed ahead of the Celts.

If that's true that coaches think that way, they're being silly. Casey had no major obstacles to overcome this season, and Brad had lots. Besides, by the logic Russillo mentions, D'Antoni should've won, not Casey.

Brad Stevens should have won last year since the Celtics were #1 seed

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I still don't understand what Casey did to deserve that Coach of the Year recognition from his peers.

Nor do I.

Russillo pointed out on his podcast that NBA coaches tend to feel that awards should be given first to the team that won more games (coaches are often reluctant to vote guys on losing teams to the All-Star game), so they may have voted for Casey ahead of Stevens by default because Casey's team got the #1 seed ahead of the Celts.

If that's true that coaches think that way, they're being silly. Casey had no major obstacles to overcome this season, and Brad had lots. Besides, by the logic Russillo mentions, D'Antoni should've won, not Casey.

Brad Stevens should have won last year since the Celtics were #1 seed

Good point.

[mr. dee]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

[Fred Roberts]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

JV had 21/21 in game one when the Raptors absolutely froze and gave away a sure victory. He was fine.

[KGs Knee]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

JV had 21/21 in game one when the Raptors absolutely froze and gave away a sure victory. He was fine.

Yeah, pinning the blame on Valanciunas is folly.  People making him out to be the scapegoat clearly aren't bothering to look at the actual data.

JV had the the highest WS/48 on the team during both the regular season and the playoffs.  JV also had the highest +/- on the team during the playoffs, as one of only two players that actually had a positive +/- (Fred VanVleet was the other player).  JV also had the second best defensive rating on the team in the playoffs, and tied for the highest net rating.

And even during the Cleveland series, where he wasn't quite as good, he still ended up with the 2nd highest defensive rating on the team.  His offensive rating and +/- took a huge dip in that series, but if you look closer at the lineup data, this is almost exclusively due to the amount of time he spent on the court with DeRozan, who was utterly atrocious in the Cleveland series.  JV himself averaged 16/12 on 50% shooting and nearly 2 blocks in a mere 24 minutes per game against Cleveland.  Toronto was actually 2.5 points worse per game without JV on the court against the Cavs.

[mr. dee]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

JV had 21/21 in game one when the Raptors absolutely froze and gave away a sure victory. He was fine.

Yeah, pinning the blame on Valanciunas is folly.  People making him out to be the scapegoat clearly aren't bothering to look at the actual data.

JV had the the highest WS/48 on the team during both the regular season and the playoffs.  JV also had the highest +/- on the team during the playoffs, as one of only two players that actually had a positive +/- (Fred VanVleet was the other player).  JV also had the second best defensive rating on the team in the playoffs, and tied for the highest net rating.

And even during the Cleveland series, where he wasn't quite as good, he still ended up with the 2nd highest defensive rating on the team.  His offensive rating and +/- took a huge dip in that series, but if you look closer at the lineup data, this is almost exclusively due to the amount of time he spent on the court with DeRozan, who was utterly atrocious in the Cleveland series.  JV himself averaged 16/12 on 50% shooting and nearly 2 blocks in a mere 24 minutes per game against Cleveland.  Toronto was actually 2.5 points worse per game without JV on the court against the Cavs.

He wasn't exactly the worst player, but Biyombo had higher value to that Raptors team than JV did. They won 2 games against the Cavs without JV. JV is a walking mismatch with Cavs front court, but he's also a liability when Cavs go away with the basket and start shooting 3s. Biyombo could at least close out on the perimeter and prevent them from taking wide open shots. Point is Raps were more competitive when Biyombo was still on the team. He was making Thompson useless on boards and preventing the Cavs on easy drives.

[KGs Knee]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

JV had 21/21 in game one when the Raptors absolutely froze and gave away a sure victory. He was fine.

Yeah, pinning the blame on Valanciunas is folly.  People making him out to be the scapegoat clearly aren't bothering to look at the actual data.

JV had the the highest WS/48 on the team during both the regular season and the playoffs.  JV also had the highest +/- on the team during the playoffs, as one of only two players that actually had a positive +/- (Fred VanVleet was the other player).  JV also had the second best defensive rating on the team in the playoffs, and tied for the highest net rating.

And even during the Cleveland series, where he wasn't quite as good, he still ended up with the 2nd highest defensive rating on the team.  His offensive rating and +/- took a huge dip in that series, but if you look closer at the lineup data, this is almost exclusively due to the amount of time he spent on the court with DeRozan, who was utterly atrocious in the Cleveland series.  JV himself averaged 16/12 on 50% shooting and nearly 2 blocks in a mere 24 minutes per game against Cleveland.  Toronto was actually 2.5 points worse per game without JV on the court against the Cavs.

He wasn't exactly the worst player, but Biyombo had higher value to that Raptors team than JV did. They won 2 games against the Cavs without JV. JV is a walking mismatch with Cavs front court, but he's also a liability when Cavs go away with the basket and start shooting 3s. Biyombo could at least close out on the perimeter and prevent them from taking wide open shots. Point is Raps were more competitive when Biyombo was still on the team. He was making Thompson useless on boards and preventing the Cavs on easy drives.

I don't think it really makes sense to compare who JV was as a player 2 years ago to who he is now.  He's changed his game a lot and made quite a bit of improvement over that time.

As far as JV being a bad matchup vs the Cavs, the data says otherwise.  I think people are sticking to a narrative that no longer fits.

[mr. dee]

They need to trade Val and Ibaka which was a dumb signing by Masai

Vs Celtics , gearing the team to be able to matchup Cavs (3 pt defense, versatile long defenders)  and obtaining a really good 1 on 1 defender (Morris)

Ujiri's biggest mistake was letting Biyombo go instead of trading JV. He was the main reason why Raptors won 2 games against the Cavs 2 years ago.

JV had 21/21 in game one when the Raptors absolutely froze and gave away a sure victory. He was fine.

Yeah, pinning the blame on Valanciunas is folly.  People making him out to be the scapegoat clearly aren't bothering to look at the actual data.

JV had the the highest WS/48 on the team during both the regular season and the playoffs.  JV also had the highest +/- on the team during the playoffs, as one of only two players that actually had a positive +/- (Fred VanVleet was the other player).  JV also had the second best defensive rating on the team in the playoffs, and tied for the highest net rating.

And even during the Cleveland series, where he wasn't quite as good, he still ended up with the 2nd highest defensive rating on the team.  His offensive rating and +/- took a huge dip in that series, but if you look closer at the lineup data, this is almost exclusively due to the amount of time he spent on the court with DeRozan, who was utterly atrocious in the Cleveland series.  JV himself averaged 16/12 on 50% shooting and nearly 2 blocks in a mere 24 minutes per game against Cleveland.  Toronto was actually 2.5 points worse per game without JV on the court against the Cavs.

He wasn't exactly the worst player, but Biyombo had higher value to that Raptors team than JV did. They won 2 games against the Cavs without JV. JV is a walking mismatch with Cavs front court, but he's also a liability when Cavs go away with the basket and start shooting 3s. Biyombo could at least close out on the perimeter and prevent them from taking wide open shots. Point is Raps were more competitive when Biyombo was still on the team. He was making Thompson useless on boards and preventing the Cavs on easy drives.

I don't think it really makes sense to compare who JV was as a player 2 years ago to who he is now.  He's changed his game a lot and made quite a bit of improvement over that time.

As far as JV being a bad matchup vs the Cavs, the data says otherwise.  I think people are sticking to a narrative that no longer fits.

You can twist many narratives as you want. But you cannot twist the fact that they haven't won a single playoff game against the Cavs ever since Biyombo left. You say JV have his game have evolved his game but there are no solid evidence to prove it aside from empty stats. Cavs haven't improved much since 2016 and they are getting worse but Raptors couldn't capitalize or at least make it hard for Lebron and his team.

Biyombo had that Smart effect in him. He provides energy, leadership and tenacious defense which no one on the current Raptor roster can provide. At least he can defend the perimeter and run back in transition better than both Ibaka and JV right now.

Again, I'm not saying it was JV's fault or anything. I'm just saying that Biyombo had much better value to the Raptors than JV.

[Bucketgetter]

NBA awards are an absolute joke. Not a single vote for Brad? Are you kidding me? Who the **** voted for Doc Rivers, that's what I want to know. I am going to try to never reference All Star appearences, MVP votes, COY votes, or ROY votes when posting from now on. Tatum probably will get like 8th in the ROY voting anyway. Who's with me?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

NBA awards are an absolute joke. Not a single vote for Brad? Are you kidding me? Who the **** voted for Doc Rivers, that's what I want to know. I am going to try to never reference All Star appearences, MVP votes, COY votes, or ROY votes when posting from now on. Tatum probably will get like 8th in the ROY voting anyway. Who's with me?

I couldn't believe Doc got a vote. Preposterous.

[CelticD]

I've heard the change in offensive scheme wasn't even really all of Casey, it was the assistant Nick Nurse..but then the question becomes, why is Casey getting fired for a scheme that works in the regular season but still gets trounced by Lebron in the playoffs.

The Raptors are hoping for the Casey firing to be like GS firing Mark Jackson. Jackson was a good coach who got the Warriors to the playoffs, but ultimately Kerr was the one who led them to a championship.