Wray Morrison: The case for Casey

I’ve been a fan of the way Raptors coach Dwayne Casey carries himself ever since he joined the team.

I’ll admit I didn’t know much about him prior to his hire in Toronto.

Today I have a new found respect for Casey after he actually apologized to fans after Toronto’s 123-102 loss to Oklahoma City.

There is no shame in losing to a team like the Thunder, but Thursday’s 21-point loss was embarrassing. He said the effort and competitive spirit wasn’t there and added it wasn’t acceptable. He said there was no excuse for the performance that fans witnessed.

It’s not lost on me that Casey may ultimately pay with his job if this slide continues.

In pro sports, coaches have to get in to that bubble where they ignore the fans from time to time. It was impressive to watch Casey put himself in to the customers’ shoes. That couldn’t have been easy.