Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was not a happy camper despite getting the victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and now we know why.
In the final 30 seconds of Toronto’s 111-98 win, Raptors rookie OG Anunoby got a steal and proceeded to dunk it on the other end of the floor, a play that seemed to anger some of the Hawks. Upon the final buzzer sounding, Casey was seen cursing in the direction of Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer and the Atlanta bench. Here is the video (beware of the foul language however):
Dwane Casey wasn't too happy with the Hawks coaching staff after tonight's game pic.twitter.com/Zja60I933k
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 30, 2017
In his postgame press conference, Casey was asked about the incident and hinted that he took exception to Budenholzer saying something to Anunoby.
“I’m a coaches’ coach,” Casey explained. “I love coaches, but one thing I don’t want you to do is say something to my players. I don’t know what was said exactly, but he was upset the kid stole the ball to go for a layup.
“We weren’t trying to run the score up,” he added. “They were trying to score, and we were trying to play defense. … There was no intent. Bud, he was probably in the heat of the moment. I was in the heat of the moment. Bud’s a good man, a good coach, but I’m gonna stick up for my players at any time.”
Of course, Casey is a coach who is never afraid to keep it real, and maybe the Raptors could use more of that fire as they chase the No. 1 seed in the East.
