Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet offers heartfelt support for head coach Nick Nurse after a big win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Nurse's mother, Marcella Nurse, passed away last Monday.
Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweeted out VanVleet's words for Nurse, who led the Raptors to the victory even while grieving for the death of his 94-year old mother.
“The coaches are our brothers, too, and you want to be there for them and pick them up.”
When asked on why he is still set to coach the Raptors when he was expected to miss out, Nurse emphasized that it was what he just needed to do, per the Associated Press.
“I’m here because my mother wouldn’t want it any other way. She had a big impact because she had nine of us and I was the last one,” the 51-year-old coach said of his mother. “Lots of games – 94 years, nine kids and about 80,000 games watched are her final stats.”
On Tuesday night, his 22-7 Raptors didn't disappoint him. Even without Kawhi Leonard, the Raps were able to hack out a 123-99 beating of the Clippers in Staples Center. Defensive big man Serge Ibaka had a game-high of 25 points while VanVleet impressed with a career-high of 14 assists.
Nobody really believed that the Raptors would be this high on the standings early this season. When Toronto surprisingly fired Dwane Casey last summer that sparked scrutiny on the team's front office, the hiring of Nurse as replacement never really gained steam.
But with the Raptors off and rolling early, it will be just a matter of time when everyone knows how brilliant of a coach Nurse is.
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