Nogueira’s solid play in Game 1 an example of Casey’s confidence in bench

Lucas Nogueira had played about eight minutes each in 49 games during the regular season. And when Raptors coach Dwane Casey called his name with the game on the line Saturday night, Nogueira was sitting in his usual spot near the end of the bench, slurping on a drink.

But as always, the big Brazilian was ready to go in. Casey’s confidence in his bench never faltered during the regular season, and Toronto’s “bench mob” grew into one of the best in the league. One through 11 on Saturday night, the Raptors’ depth played a huge part of Saturday’s 114-106 Game 1 win over the Washington Wizards, and will be a theme throughout their playoff run.

“I never know (if I’m going to play),” Nogueira said. “I’m always there sitting on the bench, drinking coconut water, watching the game. Some days, they say ‘Lucas, go ahead,’ and I just go and play.

“It’s nice,” he added, on Casey’s confidence in him. “You don’t see that as much on other teams, they play like five starters and three, max four guys on the bench. It’s good to see Casey trusts the whole crew. I think he knows, right? I think if you’re in the NBA it’s because you’re capable to do something, right? I think everybody is capable to play. I understand it’s the playoffs, it’s the time to win, but I believe in every single guy on the team.”

Casey clearly does too. The 60-year-old coach has been asked several times whether keeping the same rotation would work during post-season. His answer hasn’t changed: Why wouldn’t it work?