Dwane Casey on the Bargnani / Jonas rotation

Dwane Casey was on the FAN 590 with Tim & Sid Uncut today. Earlier in the morning, Tim & Sid really called out Andrea for his lack of effort on the floor; so many of us were intrigued to see how the interview with Dwane Casey would go later in the day.

Would it be just as raw?

I’ve summed up the interview below, followed by a link to the podcast if you desire to listen to it all.

Dwane Casey was upset in the manner that the Raptors lost last night’s game in. It was tough to swallow because the Raptors were in control to start the game.

Despite the loss, Casey spent a good chunk of the interview reiterating the following things:

• The Raptors are in no way, shape, or form giving up on a playoff berth this year.
• When Casey was in Dallas, they went on a nine-game losing streak but still went on to win the championship. He says that the Raptors are in the ‘same place’ and that the fight won’t be over until it’s mathematically impossible.

Casey was frustrated with Andrea’s performance. They expect him to have a big role in the offensive schemes but that he really needs to do more than just play offense – namely improve on defensive rotations and defensive rebounding.

As frustrated as he was with Andrea though, Casey says he was frustrated with the other bigs – Amir and JV – too.

Then Tim popped the question.

Why was Andrea on the floor in crunch time?

Get this:

Casey stated that Andrea was in over Valanciunas in the fourth to put a body on Luke Walton, and to provide a rebounding presence.

I shouldn’t have to even begin to dissect that statement.

1. How big of a threat is Luke Walton?
2. Is Bargnani even close to being as good a rebounder as Valanciunas?

The answers are none, and no.

Another factor Casey believed that Bargnani should’ve been in for – spacing. He mentioned that the Raptors had a woeful three-point shooting night, and that he was hoping for Andrea to provide spacing to help with that issue.

Is Andrea coachable?

“No question”. The issue of poor play is not only on Andrea though. Casey mentioned that Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry are both struggling with their decision making; and Alan Anderson is really having a difficult time on offense.

It’s ‘misguided’ to put everything on Andrea.

On DeMar DeRozan

Casey is absolutely thrilled with DeMar’s development; says that he’s improved greatly in his decision making, ability to drive to the basket, and hitting free throws. His defense is still coming, but offensively he’s been tremendous.

You can listen to the full interview here.