Nick Nurse Articles - Page 12

Still vibing with championship glory, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse found out his talisman player, Kawhi Leonard, would leave his team for the LA Clippers in the most random of places. The guitar-wailing aficionado was taking part on a packed house at the Tropicana in Las Vegas alongside assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren, rocking out […]

Jim Boylen’s old-school tactics wore thin on the Chicago Bulls in the first week of his tenure as head coach after taking over for the fired Fred Hoiberg. Players were so frustrated with the frequency and intensity of his practices, they briefly considered skipping one en masse before agreeing to discuss their issues with Boylen […]

Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol had encouraging words for Nick Nurse and the Canadian team and their bright future on Friday. The Spanish center spoke on his coach’s talent and how he thought it would lead to success in the FIBA tournament. “It’s going to be a very exciting tournament for them as they are […]

The Toronto Raptors will have huge adjustments to make in the 2019-20 season following the departure of Kawhi Leonard, but head coach Nick Nurse already has a plan in mind. Nurse said that the Raptors will be relying on ball movement, which was a key factor during their title run last season. The second-year head […]

Kawhi Leonard has decided to take his talents to the Western Conference, joining the LA Clippers on a max deal after leading the Raptors to their first championship in franchise history. Leonard’s decision came as a surprise to some, but it sounds like Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was prepared to take the news. According […]

Kawhi Leonard did the unprecedented, leaving the Toronto Raptors just 22 days after he led them to their first ever NBA championship. The reigning Finals MVP chose to go home, and play in his hometown for the Los Angeles Clippers. And Raptors head coach Nick Nurse completely understands why Leonard did what he did. “I […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has officially been chosen to lead Team Canada at this year’s FIBA World Cup, according to a report from Chicco Nacion of theScore. “I’m looking forward to working with this talented group of young players, and to seeing what we can do on the competitive global basketball stage,” Nurse […]

The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship this season in a stunning upset of the Golden State Warriors. Although the parade was last week, the party hasn’t stopped, at least not for head coach Nick Nurse. According to Steven Loung of SportsNet, Nick Nurse was at an Arkells concert in Toronto, and joined the Canadian […]

Kawhi Leonard is done listening to Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse’s stories about his stint in the D-League. After the Raptors went up 3-2 on the Bucks, Nick Nurse told a story about winning Game 1 of the D-League Finals but not finishing the series at home. Kawhi interrupted and joked, “In the D-League? […]

The NBA has a longstanding tradition in which championship-winning teams pay a visit to the sitting president at the White House shortly after the NBA Finals. This season’s winners are the Toronto Raptors, but it’s not clear if head coach Nick Nurse and his players have received an invite to the U.S. capital. In a […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard is the funniest guy on the team when it comes to watching film. Leonard said he was a fun guy and media day and Nurse says the two-time Finals MVP is a funny person behind the scenes when he’s not around the media. […]

Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7, series-clinching buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the greatest moments in this years playoffs. Indeed, it is a moment that will forever live in the Raptors’ lore. While it established Kawhi Leonard as a game-changer, the play drawn by Nick Nurse also elevated the reputation of the first-year coach. […]

Just like that, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. The Raps defeated the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Final — effectively crowning Kawhi Leonard as the dynasty killer — and delivered the first-ever NBA championship to Canada. Certainly, the NBA Finals were tainted by devastating injuries in back-to-back games to Kevin Durant (torn […]

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby is unlikely to play in the 2019 NBA Summer League. According to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, Nick Nurse confirmed that there is a slim chance for Anunoby’s stint in the summer league. Nurse, who became the most recent rookie coach to win a championship, feels that Anunoby is “past […]

After leading the Toronto Raptors to its first-ever NBA championship, head coach Nick Nurse will probably have a short break before he starts calling the shots from the sidelines again. Nurse has been tapped to coach the Canadian national basketball team in the FIBA World Cup this August, and the expectations are high once again. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is now part of an elite group of coaches who have won the NBA title in their first year in the league. What makes the 51-year-old’s tale even more amazing is the type of humble beginnings Nurse had as he embarked on his career as a basketball coach: In […]

For all of the drama in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, it may have gone largely unnoticed that Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam did not play in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. Nick Nurse made that call. Pascal Siakam had been mostly inefficient when he was on the floor, shooting 6 […]

Nick Nurse’s decision to call a timeout with his Toronto Raptors leading by six points late in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday has been a hot topic discussion over the last couple of days. Of course, the Golden State Warriors went on a 9-0 run after the timeout, retaking a three-point lead […]

Nick Nurse is clearly unfazed by widespread criticism of his decision to call back-to-back timeouts late in the fourth quarter of his team’s 106-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Still, that hardly means the Toronto Raptors’ coach doesn’t believe in the concept of momentum. “Momentum is definitely […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse called a questionable timeout in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with his team up six points and only three minutes left in the game. The Raptors seemed to be in a groove offensively, specifically Kawhi Leonard, who had scored the teams last eight points. Leonard seemed unstoppable, and […]

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant suffered a devastating injury in his return to action in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said he heard somebody on the bench say Durant “tore something” on the play: "Somebody on the bench said he tore something." –Nick Nurse — Henry […]

The Toronto Raptors are carving up the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Eastern Conference champions have a 115.1 offensive rating through the first four games of this series, a hair better than Golden State’s league-leading mark from the regular season. The Warriors simply haven’t had an answer for Kawhi Leonard individually, averaging […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse credited his experience in the minor leagues for preparing him against the shuffling lineups that are part-and-parcel of the long chess match that is the NBA Playoffs. Nick Nurse: "When you get used to coming up in the minor leagues, sometimes you don't know who's playing until an hour […]

The Toronto Raptors earned perhaps their most important victory in franchise history on Wednesday night. Even so, beating the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals was bigger than basketball for first-year coach Nick Nurse. As the final buzzer sounded at Oracle Arena, officially putting the Raptors up 2-1 on the two-time […]

Marc Gasol’s clash with former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is widely known around the NBA, something the Toronto Raptors were keenly aware of before deciding to trade for him prior to the deadline. Gasol has always been expressive, especially when he demands transparency and explanations when the team is not playing the way that […]

Toronto Raptors big Marc Gasol has had to morph his game in the last few years to grow outside the mold of the traditional NBA center, recently venturing into shooting 3-pointers while connecting at a respectable rate. However, his trade to the Raptors required him to put that newfound ability to use more often than […]

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry credited head coach Nick Nurse for the team’s resounding 123-109 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals. More specifically, Lowry tipped his hat off to Nurse’s extensive coaching experience for the crucial victory on Wednesday. “Nick looks young, but he’s pretty old. […]

Before Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry told head coach Nick Nurse that he was ‘going to let it rip tonight.’ Nurse shared Lowry’s comments after their 123-109 Game 3 win that put them up 2-1 in the series. Nurse observed that Lowry was aggressive […]

There’s plenty of blame to go around after the Toronto Raptors failed to seize a commanding 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals against the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors. The Raptors shot a lackluster 37.2 percent from the field, knocking down only 11-of-38 three-pointers (28.9 percent) in their Game 2 loss. They didn’t […]

Golden State Warriors veteran wing Andre Iguodala made a tremendous impact yet again in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, as the former Finals MVP winner sank a dagger trey in the dying seconds of the tightly-contested matchup. Following his team’s narrow 109-105 defeat, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse discussed the […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse pulled off one of the biggest shockers of this season’s playoffs after putting out a box-and-1 defensive scheme against the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Finals. While this is by no means a revolutionary defensive set-up, it is very rarely used at the NBA level, which […]

Despite rumors that he might be active, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby did not play in the Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Just ahead of Game 2 on Sunday night, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said that he was unsure whether Anunoby would play despite being labeled as active […]

Although the Toronto Raptors took Game 1 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, they were unable to contain two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who erupted for 34 points. Head coach Nick Nurse has been very impressed with what the All-Star guard has been able to do not only in the series […]

The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 despite a below-average performance from Kawhi Leonard. The most dominant individual force of the playoffs was more set-up man than primary scorer on Thursday night, and never got comfortable shooting from mid-range. It speaks volumes of Leonard’s ability that he proved so integral to […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is the first former NBA G League coach to lead a team to the NBA Finals. HoopsHype NBA writer Alex Kennedy tweeted the fact on May 29. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is the first former @nbagleague coach to lead a team to the NBA Finals. Nurse is also […]

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green recently claimed that he’s the best defender in the history of the NBA. Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse didn’t really disagree with him, but said that Kawhi Leonard should also be in the discussion for the title that Draymond gave himself. “I would say both of those guys […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is the leading candidate to coach the Canadian national basketball team at the FIBA World Championships in China from August 31 to September 15, 2019, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. Raptors coach Nick Nurse, fresh off taking Toronto to its first NBA Finals in his […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is expecting an all-out war in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors have won the last three games against the Bucks and are now leading 3-2, all after trailing 0-2 to start the series. However, Nurse knows the difficulty of closing out […]

After pulling off an upset of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Conference Finals, head coach Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors hope to close out the series in Game 6 in the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena. Nurse assured fans that he will be coaching Game 6 like it is an elimination […]