Dwane Casey makes his first visit back to Toronto on Wednesday night after being fired over the summer in step one of the Raptors’ offseason makeover, as the Detroit Pistons will travel north of the border.
Toronto sits atop the Eastern Conference, as it did last season, and the current Pistons head coach doesn’t think the Raptors have made any sweeping changes to what they’re doing on the floor. Casey told the media he sees a lot of the same plays being run in Toronto, which is understandable, considering the present head coach, Nick Nurse, spent five years as an assistant on Casey’s staff.
For Casey, the main difference in this year’s Raptors squad simply comes down to the new players, namely the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
Dwane Casey can smile and deliver a kidney shot at the same time: pic.twitter.com/P7dARU8lhQ
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) November 14, 2018
No matter the reason for the team’s hot start, Wednesday should be a pleasant evening for Casey, who led the Raptors to their most successful stretch in franchise history with five consecutive playoff berths. Setting aside his influence in what plays they still run, the team’s present success comes in large part from the groundwork Casey laid during his tenure. Here’s hoping the Toronto fans appreciate him accordingly, although as he explained, he’s going to try to not get too caught up in that.
Dwane Casey: "I'm not gonna get emotional. I'll appreciate it, I'll really absorb whatever comes my way – the boos or the cheers – but not to the point where I'm going to cry or anything like that. I wouldn't live it down, Blake (Griffin) wouldn't let me live it down."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 14, 2018
Of course, the real gold here is Casey challenging the skills of the Raptors staff, which includes Adrian Griffin, Phil Handy, Sergio Scariolo, and Nate Bjorkgren. Griffin and Handy both played in the NBA, Griffin as recently as 2008. I’m not sure the combined talents of Casey, Sidney Lowe, Sean Sweeney, and Tim Grgurich could handle that group, but I’d certainly like to see it happen.
