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Even Dwane Casey is a little taken aback by this pick. He never lacked conviction in his Toronto Raptors, but as he admitted to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski on a recent episode of The Woj Pod, he hardly expected 2017-18 to play out like this:

"I wouldn't have doubted it. I would have to say we're pleasantly surprised—not by our veteran players, but mostly by the production of our young guys. To be honest, we didn't really know exactly what we were going to get out of that group. But Masai [Ujiri] and I said that before the season started this is a year we wanted to develop them and play them. So we knew that was going to happen. But I can honestly say I didn't know, for sure, what the results we're going to be—that they we're going to be as productive and cohesive as they are now."

Players monopolize the credit for putting the Raptors where they are: ahead of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, atop the Eastern Conference, with the NBA's third-best record and point differential per 100 possessions. That shouldn't change.

Casey isn't headlining Toronto's uber-deep bench mob. He hasn't willed DeMar DeRozan into a respectable three-point shooter. He isn't the linchpin of a work-addicted defense that takes a special, if slightly maniacal, pleasure out of gumming up fast-break attempts.

He is, however, charged with upholding the Raptors' stylistic shift.

They've completely remodeled their shot profile, almost overnight. More than 69 percent of their looks come at the rim or from beyond the arc, up from around 59 percent in 2016-17, according to Cleaning The Glass. They're ninth in possessions used per 48 minutes and 10th in transition frequency, compared to 22nd and 17th, respectively, last year.

This matters. Teams often have to underwrite a coaching change to facilitate stark reinvention. Casey has adjusted and evolved along with his players—right down to his dependence on, and faith in, youngsters and non-starters. The Raptors' second-most used lineup is an all-bench mob spearheaded by four players age 25 or younger, not one of whom has more than three seasons of experience.

Praise the players for their performance. They deserve it. But recognize Casey for his open-mindedness. He's earned it. After all, Toronto joins the Golden State Warriors as the only team to place inside the top five of both offensive and defensive efficiency, so the results speak for themselves.

Runner-up: Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs