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Head coach takes all the heat because he makes final decisions.... fair enough. I guess with that logic he should get all the praise, too. Unfortunately I think the growth seen this year has a lot more to do with the new assistant coaches which Masai brought in rather than the head coach who had been here the previous two seasons. *If that is hating, so be it*
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/15...-unsung-heroes
I probably already used too much of the original article. There is a lot there. Make sure you click the link.
So about an hour before Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons we spot Kyle Lowry seated courtside looking off into space and think he might be able to shed some light on the topic.
“Got time for a couple of questions?,” the hopeful reporter asked Lowry.
“Not really,” Lowry said.
Undeterred, the reporter plunges on.
“How about I pitch a story idea I’ve been thinking about to you and you tell me if you think it’s worth doing,” the reporter says, changing his approach.
“OK,” Lowry says somewhat hesitantly.
“I’m thinking of doing a story on the impact Casey’s coaching staff has had on this year’s success. Have they had a big impact?” Lowry is asked.
“Huge,” says Lowry nodding his head in the affirmative and then repeating himself for emphasis. “Huge.”
“Cool, then we can talk after the game?,” reporter says.
“Sure,” Lowry says dismissing the reporter with a wave.
Casey’s staff saw significant turnover from last season. Gone from last year were Johnny Davis, who landed on his feet in Los Angles with the Lakers, Micah Nori, who quickly found employment in Sacramento on Michael Malone’s staff, Eric Hughes, who joined Jason Kidd in Brooklyn, and Scott Roth, who caught on with John Loyer in Detroit when Loyer took over from Maurice Cheeks.
This is not about comparing that staff to the new staff.
But take it from Lowry. The mix on this year’s staff has been just about perfect.
“Got time for a couple of questions?,” the hopeful reporter asked Lowry.
“Not really,” Lowry said.
Undeterred, the reporter plunges on.
“How about I pitch a story idea I’ve been thinking about to you and you tell me if you think it’s worth doing,” the reporter says, changing his approach.
“OK,” Lowry says somewhat hesitantly.
“I’m thinking of doing a story on the impact Casey’s coaching staff has had on this year’s success. Have they had a big impact?” Lowry is asked.
“Huge,” says Lowry nodding his head in the affirmative and then repeating himself for emphasis. “Huge.”
“Cool, then we can talk after the game?,” reporter says.
“Sure,” Lowry says dismissing the reporter with a wave.
Casey’s staff saw significant turnover from last season. Gone from last year were Johnny Davis, who landed on his feet in Los Angles with the Lakers, Micah Nori, who quickly found employment in Sacramento on Michael Malone’s staff, Eric Hughes, who joined Jason Kidd in Brooklyn, and Scott Roth, who caught on with John Loyer in Detroit when Loyer took over from Maurice Cheeks.
This is not about comparing that staff to the new staff.
But take it from Lowry. The mix on this year’s staff has been just about perfect.
Nurse has brought his unique offensive flair to the Raptors while both Bayno and Mermuys are tireless developers, willing to go to the gym at any hour of the day or night to get a player some extra work.
“Nick Nurse has come in and done an unbelievable job figuring out sets and bringing in a different type of offence, a more up-tempo type of offence,” Lowry said. “Jesse and Bayno? Their energy has been great. Their enthusiasm and pushing everybody to keep being aggressive and shooting shots and making sure that even if they miss a few, it don’t matter, just keep going.”
“Nick Nurse has come in and done an unbelievable job figuring out sets and bringing in a different type of offence, a more up-tempo type of offence,” Lowry said. “Jesse and Bayno? Their energy has been great. Their enthusiasm and pushing everybody to keep being aggressive and shooting shots and making sure that even if they miss a few, it don’t matter, just keep going.”
Sterner, the only coaching holdover from Casey’s first staff in Toronto, shares a defensive philosophy with the head coach and is credited with helping re-establish that defensive identity this season after it slipped a year ago.
Bayno and Mermuys are Casey’s worker bees, the guys who work most closely with the players developing their games. Bayno has received plenty of credit for building and maintaining Jonas Valanciunas’ confidence in particular.
Bayno and Mermuys are Casey’s worker bees, the guys who work most closely with the players developing their games. Bayno has received plenty of credit for building and maintaining Jonas Valanciunas’ confidence in particular.
I probably already used too much of the original article. There is a lot there. Make sure you click the link.
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