The Toronto Raptors are crashing back down to Earth. After a string of close losses and strong wins, Nick Nurse and his crew succumbed to the Utah Jazz 119 – 103. It was an ugly game for the Raptors, as they had a slim lead at halftime but surrendered the lead in the third quarter.

After the game, Nurse got brutally honest about what the Raptors should do to win games like these. Here's what the head coach had to say after the loss: (via Josh Lewenberg)

“We've gotta stick to what we do and what we do is we try to protect the paint first and get out and challenge… When we're in and we're out quickly and we're flying around a little bit is when we're at our best, and we're just not having enough of that.”

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The Raptors' vaunted defense couldn't do anything the Jazz, who seemed to have their way against the shorthanded visitors. Already lacking in size, the loss of OG Anunoby further hampered their ability to defend against the Jazz's dual threats. As a result, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell feasted on them, especially Gobert, who went perfect from the field.

Nick Nurse's defensive schemes have garnered the attention of many NBA fans in previous years. He has been proven to be creative when needed: a prime example is the Raptors running a box-and-one in the Finals versus Golden State. This year, though, whether due to lack of talent, that same defensive intensity isn't there.

Is it time for the Raptors to switch up their schemes? Say what you will, but Nick Nurse certainly doesn't think so.