Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is coming off a dream season in which he helped bring the Larry O'Brien trophy to Canada for the first time. Now, the coach is looking to bring Canada some more hardware.
Nurse claimed that he will be taking the FIBA tournament just as seriously as the playoff games he was coaching in just months ago.
“As you guys know, I'm gonna tinker around a little bit, I'm gonna try lots of combinations. I'm not gonna be worried about one bad half or one bad quarter…What we are gonna do is get to work every day and learn as much as we can the next day to get a little bit better,” Nurse said.
“We're gonna treat them like playoff games in China. They're must win.”
While Team Canada will be missing R.J. Barrett and Jamal Murray in the FIBA World Cup tournament proper, they still boast some solid talent. Miami Heat big man Kelly Olynyk and Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph headline the group, along with Orlando Magic center Khem Birch as well as Chris Boucher and Oshae Brissett of the Raptors.
Over the years, Team Canada has won a total of eight medals. It's most recent medal came from the FIBA AmeriCup, where the team came home with the bronze medal.
Unfortunately, Team Canada has never won a gold medal. If Nurse can get his young players on board to take the FIBA Tournament as seriously as they would take NBA playoff games, the team might have a shot at its first gold.
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