khandor’s sports blog

If the Raptors actual intent this season is to try to win as many games as possible, then, Dwane Casey needs to make an adjustment in his current starting line-up.

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Casey considers changes

Following Sunday’s loss in Los Angeles, a game that was once again dominated and all but determined by a listless first-quarter Raptors performance, Casey is no longer content to stay with the status quo. At the very least he’s seriously considering changing a few pieces.

It’s not so much the mounting losses, although that’s clearly part of it, but how the losses are coming.

For the first time this year on Sunday, Casey called out one of his players for a lack of effort, clearly identifying Amir Johnson in the process.

Casey went to great lengths on Sunday to emphasize that he wasn’t placing blame on any one player. In fairness the questions Sunday left him little choice but to address the fact that Johnson played only seven minutes.

He had to explain why he wasn’t out there and the truth was Aaron Gray was running hard and ensuring DeAndre Jordan didn’t add to the number of crowd inciting lob-finishing dunks he was throwing down much to the appreciation of the Staples Center crowd.

Monday in Phoenix, though, Casey pointedly said that were any changes coming, it wasn’t going to be done to single out any individual’s performance or lack thereof.

“We still have a couple of positions we’re looking at,” Casey said. “Right now, we’re going to sleep on it again tonight. Everything we’re aiming to do is nothing that’s an indictment of any one player, it’s more of us having balance, finding the right combination to get off to quick starts and a balanced game.

“We’ve got too many ebbs and flows with the game as far as our points production, our defensive focus and the whole nine yards. That’s what we’re trying for more than: ‘Hey, it’s this one guy’ (that’s the reason) we’re not winning.”

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If, however, the Raptors actual intent this season is to try to lose as many games as possible – so that they can obtain as high a pick as possible in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery … which is precisely what it SHOULD be – then, Dwane Casey needs to keep using DeMar DeRozan [OG] exactly how he has been used in Toronto’s line-up for all 17 games thus far this year.

When you look at the early schedule for the Washington Wizards what you should see:

is that tonight’s home game against the Toronto Raptors actually qualifies as an almost “must-win” situation … at least, if they are going to be able to avoid a prolonged losing streak to begin the season.

If both teams are healthy for this game:

then, the Wizards will have a solid opportunity to get a W, depending on the work done by Flip Saunders vs Dwane Casey.

Related:

Wizards need more than just better talent, need culture change

The Toronto Raptors might not find themselves in a better “road win”, or “close road loss,” situation for the rest of this season than what should exist for their contest this evening against the New York Knicks:

given that:

i. Amare Stoudemire [PF/C] missed New York’s most recent game against Sacramento Kings with a sprained ankle;

ii. Baron Davis [PG] has not yet joined the Knicks’ rotation;

iii. The Knicks will be playing their first game at home after just returning from a mini West Coast road trip; and,

iii. The wagering line for this game, as of 1:00 PM ET, was New York Knicks -8.5/-102.

If Dwane Casey is, in fact, as good a coach as this corner thinks he is, then, this game should eventually play out as a “near perfect” scenario for the long term health of the Raptors franchise, i.e. with the visitors playing a highly competitive brand of physical basketball [Win], before losing by less than 8 points [Lose] and, simultaneously, improving their chances of securing a high end selection in the NBA’s 2012 Draft Lottery [Win].

The long term goal of any professional sports franchise should be to win its League Championship … and, the best way for the Raptors to acquire the type of marquee talent necessary to become a legitimate contender in the NBA, one day in the not-too-distant future, is by losing games like this and, thereby, finishing in 30th, 29th or 28th place in the final standings this season.

Countless numbers of small decisions made each and every day of a coach’s tenure on a job eventually add up to what will inevitably become The Key Points Of Emphasis for that specific program.

In the case of D-Casey and the Toronto Raptors:

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Calderon has edge in [non-]battle of the point guards

The most significant aspect of Casey’s defensive system is that it could allow someone like Calderon to seemingly improve at that end of the court. The coach has said all along that he will devise a scheme that plays to the strengths of his players and one that will allow more help than needed.

The Raptors will run a more traditional defence — packing the paint, offering some help on screen-and-roll situations, taking away straight-line drives that the team gave up all too often last year playing a more spread out style — that the coach said this week would overcome some of the individual physical limitations of his players.

“It’s packing the paint pretty much and . . . around the league, most teams do that so it’s not too new for me,” said Bayless.

It’s on offence where the 6-3 Bayless has to show the most improvement. The coaching staff want better recognition of options off the screen-and-roll, which is the bread-and-butter play of practically every team.

“His biggest challenge is handling the pick-and-roll situation, seeing his teammates, but he’s done an excellent job in practice so far,” said Casey.

“That’s what the game really comes down to in crunch time is pick-and-roll situations. Either running it or defending it are the two toughest things in the NBA right now.”

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So far, so good … when it comes to evaluating accurately who the better basketball player actually is, between his 2 main options at the Point Guard position, in terms of Individual and Team Offense, Defense and Rebounding.

Based upon what was said at yesterday’s media day:

as well as a couple of head coach and key player interviews, from the first days of an abbreviated training camp …

it is good to see the Raptors continue to move in a positive direction …

with an emphasis on improved Team Defense and Rebounding and the goal of adding both: i) Jonas Valanciunas, and ii) the team’s next 1st Round Draft Pick [i.e. from the top end of the 2012 NBA Draft] into the mix:

… heading towards what should be a considerably improved 2012-2013 season.

Thus far, there’s a great deal to like about what Dwane Casey is saying concerning the present state of the Toronto Raptors.

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Raptors set bar as low as it can go

“A lot of games, sad to say, are going to be practices,” Casey said.

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The fact is …

i. Prior to any sort of “re-build” happening there must have been some sort of legitimate “build” otherwise the former is little more than a simple mirage.

ii. Defense is the backbone of any legitimate championship calibre pro sports franchise.

iii. Some form of legitimate “pain” precedes any form of real “growth” in this world.

Ed Stefanski is an established GM in the NBA.

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Raptors adding Stefanski to front office

The Toronto Raptors are finalizing an agreement with former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski to take over as the franchise’s executive vice president of basketball operations, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Stefanski, who was fired as the 76ers’ GM a week ago, will report to Raptors president-GM Bryan Colangelo, who will still have final say on basketball matters. Stefanski will ultimately replace Masai Ujiri, who left Toronto to become the Denver Nuggets GM last year.

Colangelo conducted a lengthy search and ultimately targeted Stefanski in recent weeks for the job. Former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower was the runner-up. San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey had been a strong candidate, too.

By adding Stefanski and possibly another assistant GM and scouts, the Raptors are restructuring their player personnel department. After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, Colangelo and new coach Dwane Casey are working with two-year contracts.

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In conjunction with the arrival of Dwane Casey [their new head coach] this off season, and Jonas Valanciunas’ [a promising young Center/No. 5 Pick in the 2011 NBA Draft] expected addition next year, if the Raptors can find their way into the upper half of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery … either: [i] via trade, or [ii] through another season’s worth of inept on-court performance … there is – once again – no valid reason, whatsoever, for this franchise to be a perennial treadmill team.

When a team wins only 22 games in a NBA regular season, and fails to make the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive year, and chooses to relieve its head coach from his duties, and hires a replacement from outside of their existing organization, then, this new person would be making an error, if he decides to retain the services of assistant coaches who worked with this same team during several of the previous seasons.

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Casey completes his coaching staff

New Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey has completed the bulk of his coaching staff, with former Raptors assistant and 76ers and Magic head coach Johnny Davis agreeing to join his staff as lead assistant coach.

Davis coached Allen Iverson in his rookie season in Philadelphia, but was fired after one season. He spent parts of two seasons as Orlando’s head coach, and was interim head coach in Memphis after Marc Iavaroni was fired two years ago, before the Grizzlies named Lionel Hollins head coach. Davis, a former teammate of Hollins’ on Portland’s world championship team in 1976, remained on Hollins’s staff.

Davis will join assistant Scott Roth, who had interviewed for an assistant’s job with the Lakers under new head coach Mike Brown, but will remain in Toronto. Roth had been at Golden State, Memphis and Dallas before joining the Raptors in 2009, and also has extensive international coaching experience. Assistants Eric Hughes and Micah Nori will also remain as holdovers from Jay Triano‘s staff. Triano was fired at the beginning of the month and Casey was officially hired to replace him last week. Toronto is also hiring longtime assistant coach and scout Tom Sterner to the staff. Sterner was with the 76ers last season and has been with the Warriors, Magic and Mavericks in almost three decades as an NBA coach.

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Hopefully Dwane Casey will exercise better judgment, as he becomes increasingly familiar with the lanscape in Toronto.

Yesterday, Dwane Casey was named the new head coach for the Toronto Raptors.

CASEY’S HEAD COACH EXPERIENCE WITH MINNESOTA

MINNESOTA’S PERFORMANCE PRE-, DURING, AND POST- CASEY

According to these rudimentary facts, the Raptors have hired a solid defensive-minded basketball coach who, over a period of years:

1. Is likely to improve their overall team defense;

and,

2. Is unlikely to perform as a Transformational Coach and take their team into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference … unless, of course, their GM [i.e. Bryan Colangelo] also does a much better job of drafting elite level players with outstanding defensive ability than he has done to this point in his career.

Related:

Raptors reveal ‘Part 1′ of new ‘Winning Plan’

Raptors reveal ‘Part 2′ of new ‘Winning Plan’