Casey says Raptors have grown from two seasons of playoff heartbreak

TORONTO – Dwane Casey says the Toronto Raptors are a different team thanks to the lessons learned over two heartbreaking NBA playoff series.

That’s why, when the bright lights of the post-season switch on, the coach believes his team will be ready.

“That experience is huge,” Casey said. “Everybody talks about ‘Oh you got swept, you got whupped last year in the playoffs.’ Yeah, we did. But the experience factor was huge. I always say you’ve got to go through something to get to where you want to go. Last year was our something.”

The Raptors begin their third consecutive playoff appearance Saturday against the visiting Indiana Pacers. The Raptors took Brooklyn to seven games in a thrilling series two seasons ago, and then were dispatched by Washington in four straight last year.

From the referees’ calls to the ear-splitting roar of the Air Canada Centre crowd, they were like pages in a playoff textbook, and the players, Casey said, are the wiser for it.

“They get there and they’ve seen it,” Casey said. “All at once you get double-teamed or your shot doesn’t fall, and you don’t let it affect you as much as you did last year. There’s nothing new they’re going to throw at you that you haven’t seen, so that experience is huge. The intensity of the game is not going to bother you.”

Two years ago, three of Toronto’s starters — DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross — had zero post-season experience between them. Paul Pierce, alone, had appeared in more playoff games than the entire Raptors roster combined.

“That series was tougher because (the Nets) were smart, they were savvy, they did a lot of nuanced and subtle things to make you think,” Casey said. “That series was a lot to go to seven games as far as the maturation process.”

The Raptors roll into the post-season riding a record-setting season that saw them win a franchise-best 56 games, including a team-high 32 at home.

And along with the playoff growth of DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Co., the Raptors also made significant off-season moves when they acquired Cory Joseph, who won an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs, and DeMarre Carroll, who was a key piece of the Atlanta Hawks’ run to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

They won’t be overwhelmed by the ACC crowd, known as one of the noisiest in the league, or the 10,000 fans expected to squeeze into “Jurassic Park” to watch the game on the giant screen in Maple Leaf Square.

“We have a great crowd, but it’s an unusual crowd because it is so passionate and so loud, and it can overwhelm you, and I think going through those first two years, this year it shouldn’t overwhelm us,” Casey said. “And the young guys (such as Norm Powell) have been through big games before in (NCAA games) and other situations. Cory has been there before.

“Our crowd is second to none. It can be a positive or it can be a negative, if guys feel the pressure. But I know we’re not going to feel the pressure this year.”

Casey, who addressed reporters at Biosteel Centre — the Raptors’ new practice facility — said there has been a sense of urgency with this squad all season long, and that fills him with confidence. He said the team sat back on its heels, too complacent, last season.

“I didn’t feel that this year,” the coach said. “We had the ‘itis’ last year. We had like an 11-game lead and we weren’t going to go down so that set in on us. I thought we got complacent, we stopped trying to improve.

“I thought this year throughout their shootarounds, they were positive, upbeat, trying to improve, there weren’t complaints about shootarounds and practice. It was positive this year.”

Casey said he’s proud of his players.

“I enjoy coming to work every day, I enjoy coming to work with Masai (Ujiri). This has been a positive situation throughout, even with the games where you say ‘Well we stunk tonight.’ Still, guys bounced back the next day and came back from it. It’s been positive and we’ve just got to continue that throughout these next few weeks.”