Over seven months into the 2018-19 season, with the glare off the Larry O'Brien Trophy growing stronger by the day, one would assume Nick Nurse wouldn't have to beg his team to play with more physicality. After the Toronto Raptors were blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, though, the first-year coach again found himself imploring the Raptors to match their opponent's toughness.

“We just weren’t quite physical enough. We weren’t getting our screens set good enough,” Nurse said, per The Athletic's Eric Koreen. “We weren’t getting them off their screens good enough as well. We’re going to have to be better or they’re just going to look bigger and stronger than we are, and I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. We’ve got to play a little tougher.”

This is hardly the first time Nurse has called out Toronto for not rising to the challenge of overall intensity in the playoffs. After a Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he said the Raptors would “have to play a hell of a lot harder.” Nurse echoed that sentiment following a Game 6 loss to Philadelphia, saying “we didn't play with enough force.”

Toronto isn't as physically or athletically imposing as Milwaukee, but that hardly means the team lacks length, strength, and the general capacity to play with edge. The Raptors have had a penchant for shying away from the inevitable on-court rigors of playoff basketball over the past few weeks, and clearly, must avoid doing so in Games 3 and 4 if they want a chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals competitive.