Nick Nurse Articles - Page 10

With Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green leaving in free agency, with a bunch of young players taking on larger roles in their rotation, the defending NBA-champion Toronto Raptors were generally viewed as a team that would sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs but do little more this season. Well, something funny happened: their youngsters grew […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is looking forward to seeing Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday, but is also excited about competing against him. Leonard will get his championship ring from last season from the Raptors. Once the game starts, though, Nurse and Leonard will be enemies: Nurse: "I'm gonna be connected to Kawhi for life […]

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will play his first game in Toronto since helping the franchise claim the 2019 NBA championship. His offseason decision to sign a max contract with the Clippers — thereby spurring the Raptors — makes for one of the best one-year stints in league history. Raptors point guard […]

Finding a way to guard against Houston Rockets guard James Harden has been pretty fruitless. But Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse thinks he might have the “mystery” scheme to keep Harden’s numbers down on Thursday night. Nurse hinted that the Raptors could play a little bit of zone against Houston’s backcourt while possibly deploying […]

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse and Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel have been named the Coaches of the Month for November by the NBA. Toronto's Nick Nurse and the Lakers' Frank Vogel have just been named East and West Coach of the Month for November by the NBA — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 2, […]

The Toronto Raptors rose from 11th in ESPN’s power rankings to seventh, something that had center Serge Ibaka laughing at the ebb and flow of people’s opinions after many discounted the Raptors as competition in the East at the start of the season. Since, the Raptors sit 1.5 games behind the lead at a strong […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is hopeful point guard Kyle Lowry and big man Serge Ibaka will be back in the lineup by Dec. 1. Ibaka is still recovering from a sprained right ankle, while Lowry is out after fracturing the distal phalanx of his left thumb. No Ibaka tonight. Nurse says he hopes […]

Defense has been the main element that has made the Toronto Raptors one of the top teams in the NBA today. Head coach Nick Nurse commended the veterans for getting the newcomers up to speed on playing the level of defense that he wants the whole team to play. “You guys heard me complaining about […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse — who’ll also helm the Canadian basketball team as they try to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — spoke about the recent commitments of Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, Nurse is ecstatic about the additions of the up and […]

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has yet to play since Nov. 8 after fracturing his left thumb in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Apart from rehabbing his injury, the five-time NBA All-Star has also used the downtime to help his team by coaching on the sidelines during Raptor practices. The team’s head coach […]

Pascal Siakam is the present and future of the Toronto Raptors. That could mean the Toronto faithful has another Kawhi Leonard on its hands. Yes, Siakam has two inches on Leonard, and he wears a headband. But the two have a lot in common besides playing for the Raptors last season when it concerns their […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors faced off on Monday night at Staples Center. For Kawhi Leonard, it was his first time taking on Nick Nurse and the Raptors, the team he helped lead to the 2019 NBA championship. Prior to the Clippers’ 98-88 victory, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse addressed […]

Ahead of their duel against the LA Clippers, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse reflected on the 2019 title run with Kawhi Leonard. Nurse said that he has a lot of favorite moments with Leonard. He got to know the two-time Finals MVP both as a player and a person through various meetings and encounters. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse’s challenges, and subsequent failures, became something of a niche meme for many in the NBA community. Needless to say, Nurse was ecstatic when he finally struck gold with one of his challenges. He was asked after the Raptors’ 113-104 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers about his feelings after […]

The Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak, handing them a 113-104 defeat at the Staples Center on Sunday. The defending champs are staying in Los Angeles, as they take on the Clippers and former Raptors star Kawhi Leonard next on Monday. Asked what he thinks of his first encounter with Leonard […]

It took him seven tries, but Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse finally won his first ever NBA coach’s challenge on Sunday. In the third quarter of the defending champions’ road game versus the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, Nurse finally got his way and got an initial call overturned in the Raptors’ favor. […]

There has been much said about Kawhi Leonard’s brief but successful tenure as a member of the Toronto Raptors. Head coach Nick Nurse has weighed in on how he feels that despite how some may have framed it outside of the organization, he saw that Leonard was in fact heavily involved with the team and […]

The Los Angeles Clippers have made it clear that they will prioritize Kawhi Leonard’s long-term health in recent days, even at the risk of being fined. After all, the Toronto Raptors employed the “load management” strategy with Leonard throughout the 2018-19 season, and it culminated in a historic run to first NBA title in franchise […]

Nick Nurse is a great coach. Pascal Siakam and the rest of the Toronto Raptors can agree to that. However, the 2018-19 season’s Most Improved Player cannot help but poke fun at his head coach when he was asked about his coach’s challenges. Chris O’Leary asked the forward about his head coach’s terrible record when […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse isn’t going to give Pascal Siakam special treatment just because he’s the best player on the team. Nurse says Siakam hasn’t been smart this season in terms of committing fouls and needs to be better moving forward: Nick Nurse with some strong words on Pascal Siakam's early-season foul trouble: […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is hoping center Marc Gasol can be more of a focal point on offense for the team as the season progresses, according to a report from Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Gasol has struggled to find a rhythm through the early stages of this campaign. In fact, the Spanish-born big […]

Even with the odds stacked against them, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse still has full confidence with his team. After the departure of one-and-done reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers, most pundits have already been doubting the Raptors’ chances of repeating in the 2019-20 NBA season. Some were even brazen […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, who is entering his second year as the team’s head coach, has big plans for incoming OG Anunoby this 2019-20 season. Nurse wants Anunoby to be the team’s primary defender, and he believes the 22-year-old forward has the tools to do it. Nurse praised Anunoby's camp, said he's looked […]

The Toronto Raptors added forwards Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson over the summer with the hope that the two youngsters could bring some defense to the table, but Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has not been happy with their defensive effort thus far: “Those guys have not understood a) how hard we play, b) our […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says their load management strategy on superstar Kawhi Leonard last season prepared the team for life without him. Leonard missed 22 games last season for the Raptors, who went 17-5 without their best player in 2018-19. Nurse is obviously going to miss Leonard, but he believes the Raptors aren’t […]

From Nick Nurse’s point of view, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby is in the ‘best condition he’s been in.’ After their second preseason game, Nurse shared his observations on the 22-year-old forward who’s now in his third year in the league. According to Nurse, Anunoby is healthier than ever. “He’s not only healthy, but he’s […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is looking to tweak his offense due to the lack of a reliable shooting touch from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Nurse admitted that he’s not too confident about relying on Hollis-Jefferson camping around the perimeter or behind the 3-point line, waiting for a wide-open shot. Instead, Nurse is looking at placing […]

The Toronto Raptors have an improbable campaign to defend their NBA title ahead of them. They’re close to playing their first game of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans but they are still without their franchise PG in Kyle Lowry. The NBA champion underwent the knife to fix his thumb in July and is […]

Patrick McCaw is set to get a massive minutes boost with the Toronto Raptors next season. The 23-year-old guard played a limited role for the Raptors last season, but head coach Nick Nurse hinted that things may change for him this 2019-20 campaign. Per Mike Ganter of Post Media News (via The Telegram), Nurse said […]

The Toronto Raptors may have lost Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but they still have that competitive spirit that helped them win their first-ever championship next season. And even without the reigning Finals MVP, the team still plans to remain competitive this season, and head coach Nick Nurse has indicated that he plans to have […]

Toronto Raptors wingman OG Anunoby missed the entirety of the team’s run to the first NBA title in franchise history. After playing in 67 regular season games, Anunoby was forced out of the playoffs with an appendectomy. But now that Kawhi Leonard has left town, the Raptors will need added production from the forward spot. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has told guard OG Anunoby several times that his tough 2018-19 season was out of his control. Anunoby played in 67 games during the regular season, but missed the entire 2019 playoffs as a result of undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Via Blake Murphy of The Athletic: “I’ve had several […]

Toronto Raptors and Canada men’s basketball coach Nick Nurse has plenty of sympathy for Lithuania head coach Dainius Adomaitis. Adomaitis was extremely upset after a botched call late in his team’s 78-75 loss to France that prevented the Lithuanians from advancing to the quarterfinals at the FIBA World Cup. He said that the officials didn’t […]

When Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse considered and eventually accepted the head coaching job for the Canada men’s national basketball team, he was expecting to have a number of NBA players at his disposal in the FIBA World Cup. On the contrary though, he ended up with only two: Khem Birch of the Orlando Magic […]

The entire country of Canada was on Cloud Nine when their beloved Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship this past season. However, the Raptors’ success did not spill over into the 2019 FIBA World Cup as Team Canada had a very underwhelming run in the tournament. Canada did not field in its best potential […]

Orlando Magic big man Khem Birch is happy to play for Canada in the FIBA World Cup. After all, it’s not everyday that he gets to work under a champion coach like Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors. In an interview with Montreal Gazette’s Mike Ganter, Birch said he is lucky that some players withdrew […]

Barely more than a year removed from being promoted to head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse is already taking the lead in helping develop Canada’s national program. The championship-winning coach is currently roaming the sidelines for Team Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, his first tournament as coach of our neighbors to […]

For Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Jonas Valanciunas is ‘one of the best bigs’ in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Valanciunas, who’s representing Lithuania in the quadrennial affair, worked with Nurse for several years with the Toronto Raptors before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the middle of the 2018-19 season. By […]

As Canada prepares for their must-win game versus Lithuania on Monday, head coach Nick Nurse said that he plans to give Jonas Valanciunas and his team the good old-fashioned beating. “Obviously love Jonas, but I’m going to try to kick his ass tomorrow,” Nurse said, per Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. When Valanciunas heard […]