Why Toronto Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey Didn’t Deserve His Fine For Criticising Officials

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

A man can only take so much.

After Wednesday night’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey let loose on the game’s officiating after an egregious missed call that ultimately cost Toronto a chance to win the game.

With three seconds left in regulation and the Raptors trailing 93-92, guard DeMar DeRozan grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed jumper (and a bad one at that) by teammate Alan Anderson. He then proceeded to get smacked in the face by Hawks forward Al Horford while attempting a shot under the net, but the referees missed the blatant contact, and the game was over.

Casey rushed the court in a fit of rage after the buzzer rang, and rightfully so.

During the post-game press conference, coach Casey let his frustrations be known.

"“I’m tired of this,” Casey said. “I’m tired of losing games because of missed calls at the end of the game. I know the league’s going to come down on me for this, but I don’t care. Guys have fought their hearts out, played their hearts out and at the end of the game we get cracked, apology, go back to Canada.”Casey said his initial belief a foul should have been called was supported by his review of the video.“I’ve been in this league 18 years and I’ve never seen as many missed calls at the end of the game to cost us the game,” Casey said. “We have good officials. Too good to miss calls and short-change these young men like that. And it’s not right.” (Toronto Star)"

The NBA has fined Dwane $25,000 for those comments. 

This isn’t the first time the Raptors have found themselves on the wrong end of a game-altering call. The league has already apologized twice to the team for missed calls this season, including back in November when Andrea Bargnani was fouled on a last second shot against the Charlotte Bobcats.

I’ve watched the play in question countless times to determine if there was any chance DeRozan wasn’t fouled.

It was plain as day. DeMar got hacked by Al Horford, and no one can convince me or any fan of the Toronto Raptors otherwise.

Dwane Casey did the right thing. His team put up a valiant effort on a night in which two of their main scorers (Ed Davis, Jose Calderon) were out of the line-up after being dealt in a trade for Rudy Gay earlier in the day.

Referees make mistakes. They’re human. No one is perfect, and I understand that. Unfortunately for the Raptors, that’s been the story too many times this season.

I applaud Casey for saying what needed to be said. Every cent of that $25,000 was well worth it.

It’s not like he lied. The refs blew the call and Casey acknowledged it in an appropriate manner, considering the circumstances of course. You can’t fine him and then say you’re sorry for yet another mishap. He was politically correct, well-mannered and most of all…..RIGHT!

Toronto may not lead the league in wins, but they certainly lead in apologies by the NBA.

This is getting ridiculous.

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports