Tyronn Lue on Raptors Possibly Firing Dwane Casey: 'That's Absurd. That's Crazy'
After another disappointing postseason exit, Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey's job has come into question. However, Casey at least has support from Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue.
Cleveland finished off a sweep of Toronto on Monday with a 128-93 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Afterward, Lue told reporters that Casey should not be on the hot seat, saying: "That's absurd. That's crazy."
Casey has helped turn the Raptors into one of the best regular-season teams in basketball.
He has gone 320-238 in seven seasons with Toronto, including three consecutive 50-plus-win seasons. He has also led the franchise to five straight postseason appearances—but it's what has happened in the playoffs that could cost him his job.
Toronto has made it past the second round just once under Casey despite being a top-four seed all five times. This season may have been the most disappointing of them all after being swept by a struggling Cavs squad as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland entered the series after a tough seven-game test against the Indiana Pacers in the opening round. It appeared as though this would be DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry's best chance to finally get over the hump.
Instead, it marked the third straight season the Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors, and they have now won 10 consecutive meetings in the postseason.
Repeatedly losing to one of the best players in the world hardly seems like cause for being fired. However, two consecutive sweeps at the hands of LeBron James has some believing this current Raptors squad has gone as far as it can.
This speculation just goes to show how the NBA remains a "What have you done for me lately?" league. Casey was a Coach of the Year candidate after leading his team to a 59-23 record in the regular season, but he now faces an uncertain future following a poor postseason performance.
