The Dallas Mavericks' brass heaped praise on Dwane Casey before the two teams squared off on Friday in Toronto.

Mark Cuban recommended that the Raptors hire Casey shortly after the 2011 NBA Finals run. Casey was an assistant coach on the Mavs' title team.

“I was very complimentary of him to them because of the attention he pays to detail, his understanding of the game, his ability to relate to players, he’s the total package,” Cuban said.

“I think he didn’t get a fair shake where he was as a head coach prior (in Minnesota). I mean, he was the difference-maker for us. We don’t win a championship without him.”

“There were a lot more established coaches that he passed on,” Rick Carlisle added.

“He really targeted Dwane as a guy that he knew could take a group of younger guys, mould them and instill a defensive philosophy and a defensive disposition in how they played. The very first year the record wasn’t great but the defensive numbers did a 180. From there they have built it up each year. Dwane has earned the right to have a team this good and he has done a great job of building it up to this point.”