Dwane Casey spoke with assembled media at the BioSteel Centre on Thursday afternoon. Raptors Republic was unable to attend, so here are some tweets.
On scouting the Pacers:
Dwane Casey says the Pacers are a lot like the Raps. Goes as far as to say, “When we look in the mirror, we see the Indiana Pacers.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
They're a physical team…effective as a big or small team…it'll be an excellent series. — Casey on Indiana. #rtz
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) April 14, 2016
That’s not entirely inaccurate.
On the early Saturday start time:
Casey on the 12:30 start on Saturday: “Not my first choice.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
Casey says "it is what it is" re: 1230pm start. Doesn't love it cause it's less time to prepare & it's not a normal sked / rhythm.
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) April 14, 2016
“We feel like we should have a premier time slot. We have an exciting team and earned the right by winning 56 games to be a primetime game."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
Also: “We’re ready to play if they want to play at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
“Somebody doesn’t respect us. We’ve got allthese 12:30 games … We play games while (West Cost) is asleep. We’ll use that as motivation."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
"Our crowd is second to none." – Casey on the playoff atmosphere at @AirCanadaCentre.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 14, 2016
Yup. Groan.
On guarding Paul George:
Team plans on giving Paul George different looks — from different defenders to double teams and more. — Casey on the pacers
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) April 14, 2016
DeMarre Carroll, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson, and Patrick Patterson all did decent jobs against him during the regular season. If any one guy is getting beat regularly, the Raptors can opt to blitz his off-ball actions, though I’d guess they’ll try to play George straight up to start.
On Carroll’s minutes:
Casey: “DeMarre, hopefully his minutes can get extended, but his body will tell him exactly how many minutes.” Medical staff will have input
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
Here’s hoping he can go 20-25. He opens up a ton for the Raptors in terms of the lineup chess match. Speaking of…
On Norman Powell and playoff rotations:
Casey said it could be different guy stepping up every night Non committal on how many will be in playoff rotation. Admits lots of options.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
Could Casey have imagined Norm would be in the playoff rotation earlier this season? "No, to be honest I don't think anyone [would've]"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 14, 2016
Casey jokes about Powell’s recent scoring numbers: “I remember I made a statement about his offense being ‘gravy.’ Shows you how dumb I am.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
"I think he's gotten respect from his teammates, the coaching staff and I know from the league." – Casey on @npowell2404
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 14, 2016
The guess here: Casey starts with a 10-man rotation but Powell has a short leash as Carroll’s minutes expand. Thompson is 11th thanks to his defensive agility. Johnson is #12 as Carroll/George insurance. Nogueira is active. Wright and Caboclo are in street clothes.
On his message to the team and what’s different this year:
Casey: "Play basketball. Don't get paralyzed by the moment."
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 14, 2016
Casey says every team has to go through "something" before they get where they want to go. Says getting whooped last yr was TOR's something
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) April 14, 2016
Casey says Lowry’s in a different place right now, confidence a lot higher, compared to limping into playoffs last season.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
Casey on Lowry: 'last year he was nicked up, he was recovering from injury, this year he was resting just to test'
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 14, 2016
Casey says the raptors have better balance and depth (ball handling, defence, scoring) with the likes of Joseph, Powell, Carroll et al
— Eric Smith (@Eric__Smith) April 14, 2016
“I know that our players have grown and become confident and you only get that through experience. I’ve grown as a coach.” Casey
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
“I know that our players have grown and become confident and you only get that through experience. I’ve grown as a coach.” Casey
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
The core has two years of playoff experience now, and some of the players brought in this summer add to that. There’s no “bright lights of the playoffs” excuse this time around. Let’s get it.
But still, some expectation management:
Devastating to lose in first round again? “I don’t think so. We still are a growing program, growing culture. We’re not done yet."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 14, 2016
Would a first-round loss be devastating? Casey: 'I don't think so; no one wants to listen but we're not a finished product'
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 14, 2016
Kind of disagree here, at least in terms of maintaining an 82-game buy-in that this core is good enough to contend. They might not be a finished product, and that’s fair and understandable since the long-term goal is title contention, but they need to take the next step in their progression. And I think it could do pretty irreparable damage when it comes to keeping casual fans hooked.
On his future:
Casey said he never felt he was coaching for his job this year: “Everything’s fine. Everything’s cool.” Will say more “at the right time.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
Sure sounds from the last two days as if Casey’s getting extended. Which is more than fine. He’s earned it.
And one for levity:
Dwane Casey said Bismack Biyombo is "mature for his age, whatever that age is."
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 14, 2016
I’m dying.
Shout out to beat writers.
