Damn. They make it to second round, Casey wins coach of the year, they just happen to run up against arguably the greatest player ever and get swept, and he's out of a job. Damn.
NBA-Raptors fire Casey
- Thread starter litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671
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That series was not competitive at all . He can’t get it done in the playoffs that’s why he’s fired . However to be #1 seed with that roster , wow!
Swept by LeBron in the semis for the second year in a row. The #1 seed was impressive but you can't get shut out again in the same situation with home court advantage and higher expectations.
They lost Game 1 by one in OT after leading by 10 early in the 4th. They win that game, still lose the series in six games and Casey is probably still employed.
They lost Game 1 by one in OT after leading by 10 early in the 4th. They win that game, still lose the series in six games and Casey is probably still employed.
They should have won game 1. They outplayed the Cavs for most of the game and couldn't close it out. They also played well in games 2 and 3 but LeBron went off in those games. They need to add another piece if they want to get to the Finals.
Firing their coach is a short sighted response. I thought Brad Stevens should have won coach of the year but you don't fire the coach when you finish 1st in the conference.
Firing their coach is a short sighted response. I thought Brad Stevens should have won coach of the year but you don't fire the coach when you finish 1st in the conference.
Not a good move by the Raptors what so ever. If coaches get fired for losing to a LeBron team in the playoffs there would be many coaches looking for work. Love or hate LeBron that dude is a freak on the court.
They keep losing in the first round and or getting swept. No progress being made.
I understand that. But also a coach who won more games in one season than anyway other coach in franchise history. I think it's a risky gamble by Raptors ownership Imo.
It’s really not a risky or big move. Only people who give a crap are the ones trying to make it a black thing. For instance, Stephen A. Is up in arms about Casey being fired, yet called for Brown(philly) to be canned. Weird how that works.
The Raptors are in a no win position. Either they run it back again with the same team again (and hope LeBron goes west) or they fire the coach. They don't have a lot of moveable assets aside from some of the young players on the bench. The problem with that is that they need those inexpensive players because they're locked into a lot of big money deals with Lowry, Ibaka and Derozan. It seems unlikely that they'll be able to move Lowry + a couple bench pieces for someone that is considerably better than him.
So since you don't have a lot of roster flexibility (unless Masai Ujiri wins yet another trade), firing the coach is the only real significant change one can make.
Frankly, I don't think it matters either way unless Derozan decides to shoot and make three pointers. His mid-range game is great but it's the worst shot in basketball for a reason. Shoot more threes, use less iso (though they used a lot less this year than in year's past) and hope you can find a player better than Lowry or Derozan to take you to the next level. Those two together aren't winning anything if they're your #1 and #2, we've seen that story enough already to know.
So since you don't have a lot of roster flexibility (unless Masai Ujiri wins yet another trade), firing the coach is the only real significant change one can make.
Frankly, I don't think it matters either way unless Derozan decides to shoot and make three pointers. His mid-range game is great but it's the worst shot in basketball for a reason. Shoot more threes, use less iso (though they used a lot less this year than in year's past) and hope you can find a player better than Lowry or Derozan to take you to the next level. Those two together aren't winning anything if they're your #1 and #2, we've seen that story enough already to know.
This wasn't about progress. This was about a couple of his players not liking him. Apparently he didn't kiss the feet of at least one of their franchise players. Coaches are easier to find than top talent I guess.
I'm not making this a black thing what so ever. I could careless what happens with the Raptors. But to lose to LeBron and the Cavs 2 years in a row in the playoffs and canning him after winning the amount of games he had. Imo isn't the right move. Out of all the coaches LeBron has faced in the playoffs coach Pop and Kerr are the ones that have success against LeBron. Cavs are just not a good match up for the Raptors
Screamin' A Smith thinks Masai Ujiri fired the head coach because the coach is black?
Sounds feasible to me. If people in Toronto want to run Ujiri out of town, I'll bet the Nuggets would take him back.
Raptors star players are overrated?? Ok if that's the case.... That shows the coach is getting more out of this team than what they should be capable of.
It is what it is. NBA coaches make a ton of money, have a lot of prestige and virtually no job security. They'd lost 10 straight playoff games to Lebron. Changing their roster dramatically and trying to stay competitive would've been virtually impossible, change out the coach and who knows. He'll get another job whenever he wants it.