Toronto Raptors introduce Dwane Casey as head coach
Casey has been a long-respected assistant coach who emphasizes defense. He was given credit for strengthening the Mavericks defense this season during their run to the title. At the press conference to introduce Casey, Colangelo said he got a call from Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle at 1:30 a.m. the night that Dallas won the championship recommending Casey for the job.
Casey has head coaching experience, hired by the Timberwolves in 2005, but coached only one-and-a-half seasons. He had a record of 53-69.
Casey said that he wants to maintain the Raptors’ identity as a young, uptempo high-scoring team, but that the focus will be on improving the porous defense that has so long held Toronto back. The Raptors averaged 99.1 points per game this year, but defensively, they were among the worst in the NBA. Toronto ranked 26th in the league in points allowed (105.4 per game) and 29th in field-goal percentage (48.2 percent).
“Defensively, I'm going to be a hands-on control freak, so to speak,” Casey said. “I want the defense to be fun. When you light people up and you put your stamp on the game defensively, that's fun.”
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