The Toronto Raptors fired their head coach, Dwane Casey, after achieving the best record in the Eastern Conference. This scenario sounds familiar to the Memphis Grizzlies, which is not right.
This past week, perhaps the most controversial topic in the NBA was the news surrounding the Toronto Raptors’ decision to make a drastic change to their coaching staff.
The Raptors notched a 59-win season in 2017-18. This was good for the top seed in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the entire NBA. Only the James Harden-led Houston Rockets earned a better record this season.
Dwane Casey was responsible for Toronto’s regular season success, so the team’s Front Office is holding him accountable for their early exit from the playoffs.
Reaching only the second round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the Toronto Raptors were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not all is terrible because they did lose to LeBron James — perhaps the greatest player to ever step into the NBA. It was not like the Raptors were the 100% favorite to advance.
The Memphis Grizzlies unfortunately can relate.
It was the 2012-13 season. The Grizzlies had won a franchise-best 56 games. The team was led by the notorious “Core Four” of Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, and Mike Conley. Yet, the real key to success was having Lionel Hollins as the head coach. Hollins was a figure that ensured his players were disciplined on the court and placed defense as the top priority.
2012-13 only got better for Memphis once the postseason tipped off.
In the opening round, Memphis overcame the “Lob City” bunch, also known as the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies prevailed in six contests after losing the first two games of the series.
In what you could call an even bigger surprise happened in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Memphis Grizzlies lost Game 1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but a few adjustments later, OKC would not win again. The Grizz gang took care of “Grizzness” and were victories in the following four games to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
For some teams, a trip to the Conference Finals are not a big deal. However, for a small-market underdog franchise such as the Memphis Grizzlies, it was a huge deal. This was the first and remains the only time the Grizz have earned an appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
Fate would have it that Memphis would face the San Antonio Spurs in the third round. The inter-divisional rivals were the Grizzlies’ most common playoff matchup through 2012-13.
Much like the time the Memphis Grizzlies faced San Antonio in a playoff series in 2004, the Grizz were swept. It seemed as if all of the Grizzlies’ energy was used to dominate the Clippers and Thunder. By the time they had reached the Spurs, they were beyond gassed.
Clippers. Thunder. Spurs. By 2013, the Grizzlies’ playoff matchups were beginning to sound like a broken record.
Had this Grizzly group reached its climax?
Memphis’ Front Office were not going to take “yes” for answer. They were going to rock with the “Core Four.” However, they were going to take a different route when considering the coaching staff.
Much like the Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey, Lionel Hollins found himself in an awkward position. The head coach was the scapegoat in both of these scenarios. Hollins was technically not fired; however, his contract was not renewed. Given all that Hollins accomplished during his time in Memphis, it definitely seemed like an unfair move. He gave the franchise their best days and they are still attempting to reach that same level of greatness one more time.
Whether it is the almighty San Antonio Spurs or an all-time great by the name of LeBron James, some legends just cannot be beaten. Sometimes it means the roster needs to be retooled in order to have a better shot at overcoming Goliath.
Fast-forward from 2013 from a perspective of the Grizzlies, the team has since went through two other head coaches — Dave Joerger and David Fizdale. In hindsight, a coaching change was not the necessary move after being ousted by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Toronto Raptors will learn the same. Maybe not next season, but eventually they will. That is, unless they retool their roster and come back more fierce to try their best and slowing LeBron James. Or, maybe LeBron switching conferences would help, too.
As for the current state of the Grizzlies and if they should have waited a bit longer and actually conducted a coaching search this summer, take a look at the below recent Beale Street Bears Twitter poll.
Should the Grizzlies have prolonged their coaching search and perhaps, by fate, brought in ex-Raptors HC Dwane Casey?
— Beale Street Bears (@BealeStBearsFS) May 11, 2018
Regardless of being the correct call by the Front Office, Dwane Casey should not be without a job for long, unless he wants to take a break from the NBA. His overall record speaks for itself. Whenever and wherever he returns to the sideline, hopefully he remains in the Eastern Conference.