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FIBA has a series of coaching clinics on their YT channel, one of which was led by coach casey. in it he highlights his seven fundamentals (30:13 in the video), which really showed with the raptors and helped them become such a fundamentally sound team:

- get in an athletic stance
- have players be comfortable with (or embrace) physical contact (i think this could take andre's game to the next level)
- communication, both verbal and visual
- seeing/anticipating, basically seeing stuff before it happens and acting to that quicker makes you play quicker.
- attention to detail. more a coaching fundamental but it's just making sure players players have the right techniques drilled into them.
- have an act. this means pump faking, stunting, pass fake, v-cutting, digging, etc. basically disguising your actual move with a little act (fake) beforehand. makes the opponent a little less certain of what you are going to do and gives you a little more space.
- finish. whether a layup, drill, etc. make sure that players finish what they are trying to do.

i don't think any of these are groundbreaking by any means, but toronto executing them so well shows how well casey was able to convey them. just to expand on the second point, drummond's lack of physicality for someone his size his maddening. he gives up space to avoid contact defensively and shies away from it offensively. him being a more physical player could be the single biggest improvement he could make in his game, even over adding a jump shot. players like aron baynes or steven adams aren't super athletic or anything but they are great defenders and part of the reason is they over-physical everyone. drummond has the raw strength to do that but doesn't. watching him drive to the rim and flail at the slightest contact is embarrassing quite frankly.

between these seven fundamentals and other things you know about casey (like how he empowers younger players), i think we have a decent idea of what to expect from the pistons in the near future.

what are you looking for the pistons to improve on the next couple seasons?

here's the video:

I'm looking forward for our offense to rely less on Jackson. I think that's gonna get us more wins. If he steps out, we won't suck without him. I'm looking forward to see how stanley does without SVG, I think this is his chance to prove himself. If not, trade him by trade deadline. I wanna see if Drummond finally gets a consistent offensive move, whether a jumpshot or maybe finally the hookshot. I don't believe he'll ever get the hookshot right. I'm also looking forward to see how good our defense becomes. Casey is good at defense not offense. Sweeney sucks I hear so good luck to us with him. I'm also looking forward to see what sort of jump Kennard takes in his second season. I'm also excited to watch Robinson play cuz he's young and has potential. Also of course our most talented player Blake. He's a lot of fun to watch.

Pistons get the COY on a reasonable deal. Good with that, and Casey's time in Toronto was steady improvement, if not entirely satisfactory. However, getting to true contender status is tough.

Need some breaks with health and player development. I realize how gauche it is to root for Luke Kennard, but yeah, I'm interested to see what he looks like in year 2. The jump in his play between years at Duke make you wonder. Not happy about the knee injury, but not sure how serious to take anything right now. Drummond needs to continue to demonstrate a more mature and professional approach to the game. I also agree about his game needing an assertive physical commitment to get the ball on the glass with a chance to go in when contested near the basket. Let the fouls come when they will. One thing puzzling about pro basketball is that those truly elite athletes have such poor balance? Falling down all over the court the whole game.

Stanley Johnson is getting what is likely his last chance with the Pistons. Just hit some shots.

Other than the flopping phenomena for fouls, players also tend to fall now as a form of self defense, to prevent "Zaza" type injuries where you accidentally land on someone's foot and twist an ankle or tear a knee

Casey is one of the most engaging coaches i've had the pleasure of being lectured by at a clinic. He REALLY understand the nuances of NBA defenses versus defense in every other basketball league.

- He definitely prefers vets to youth, when given a choice.
- He leans on his stars - sometimes at the expense of the team.
- Offensively he lacks creativity. No, he doesn't JUST run iso and P&R ... he runs the same stock sets every NBA team uses. For years in Toronto, he allowed Nick Nurse to only implement the secondary break... It was a good secondary, but mitigated when you have Demar wanting to slow down and go iso. Last year, when Nurse was allowed to implement his offense, Casey diluted it - and stayed away from the post series options - mainly because he felt JV couldn't stay on the floor.

He was comically bad for years in ATOs, until he started implementing Nurse's sets there as well last year.

The best compliment anyone can give Casey, is that his players LOVE him. They will run through brick walls for him. He's a hell of a motivator.

if you are a stickler for how the word "mature" should be pronounced...then he is going to drive you crazy.

CoachD wrote:The best compliment anyone can give Casey, is that his players LOVE him. They will run through brick walls for him. He's a hell of a motivator.

For a guy like Drummond, that may be the most important thing of all.

tmorgan wrote:

CoachD wrote:The best compliment anyone can give Casey, is that his players LOVE him. They will run through brick walls for him. He's a hell of a motivator.

For a guy like Drummond, that may be the most important thing of all.

I agree, even though Drummond was more focused last year. Hope to see that continue.