Lue defends Casey, says firing 'would be absurd'

Facing a potential sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second year in a row on Monday night, there's always a chance that Game 4 could be Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey's final game with the organization.

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor recently reported that league executives anticipate the Raptors will make a coaching change after the playoffs, although Casey's regular-season success could spare him. When informed of those rumors, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue wondered why Toronto would ever consider letting Casey go.

"That's absurd. That's crazy. To change a team that played iso basketball to be top three, I guess, in offense and defense this year, second-best record in the NBA (59-23), I don't believe that one bit," Lue told reporters ahead of Game 4. "It would be absurd to make a move like that."

Related - LeBron: Dwane Casey is 'part of the reason I am who I am today'

Casey has been with the Raptors since 2011, and has guided them to five straight playoff appearances. Toronto finished with a 23-43 record (.348) during his first season on the job, and the winning percentage then improved each year until 2016-17, when the team still won 51 games.

Overall, Casey's 320 victories with Toronto are 44 more than the previous three Raptors coaches combined (Jay Triano, Sam Mitchell, Kevin O'Neill).

But while Casey's success during the regular season has been undeniable, Toronto has been unable to get past LeBron James during his tenure. A loss on Monday - or at any point during the remainder of the second-round series - would mark the third year in a row that James and the Cavaliers have bounced the Raptors from the playoffs.