Report: Casey would've been fired if Raptors lost in 1st round

Having taken the last two games to even their series against the heavily favored Cleveland Cavaliers, faith has been restored in the city of Toronto.

But a month ago, when the Raptors got off to a slow start against the Indiana Pacers in the first round, trouble loomed for longtime head coach Dwane Casey.

Had the Raptors lost to the seventh-seeded Pacers, Casey would have lost his job, ESPN's Zach Lowe reports.

Fortunately for Casey, his Raptors eventually squeezed past the Pacers in a tightly contested seven-game series, before taking yet another seven-game set from the Miami Heat. That's marked a series of first-time successes for a Raptors franchise that had become known for untimely postseason meltdowns.

Winning a seven-game series, advancing past the second round, and taking two games in the conference finals - Casey has led the Raptors into rarefied air.

There's also the matter of Casey's regular-season success. Since taking over a 23-win club in 2011-12, the Raptors have improved their win percentage in every season under his watch.

This year, Toronto set a franchise high with 56 wins, good for fourth-best in the NBA. And with the Raptors among the final four teams remaining in championship contention, they've also managed to exorcise their playoff demons. Casey has surpassed expectations, and in doing so, he's more than just saved his job - he might even have earned a raise.

Casey has a team option to return for 2016-17 for $3.5 million. He's the NBA's fourth-longest tenured coach after Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, and Erik Spoelstra.