Nick Nurse Articles - Page 13

The Toronto Raptors have been an inconsistent team in the playoffs so far, but head coach Nick Nurse is playing it down and is not one bit bothered about the concern. Toronto is currently tied with the Philadelphia 76ers at 3-3 in their Eastern Conference Semifinals showdown. Both teams won one game on the road […]

Last week, the Philadelphia 76ers seemed on the verge of taking complete control of their second-round series against the Toronto Raptors. Brett Brown’s team put together perhaps its most complete performance of the entire 2018-19 season in Game 3, beating Toronto 116-95 to take what many believed was a commanding 2-1 lead in the Eastern […]

Nick Nurse chased an improbable win in Game 6. He is lucky no key starter got injured before Game 7. The Toronto Raptors got drubbed by the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night by the final score of 112-101, with Joel Embiid of the 76ers posting a masterful +40 rating in the game. The Raptors just […]

Though he’s not on the team’s official injury report anymore, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been dealing with a touch of calf soreness. The ailment was an issue in Sunday’s series-tying victory over the Sixers, but Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is expecting Siakam to play a bigger role in Game 5. Siakim noted […]

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the most respected coaches in the league, if not the most. Under his tutelage, several coaches have blossomed and become great head coaches themselves. Doc Rivers, Mike Budenholzer, and Brett Brown all worked under Popovich. Pop is known for his championship pedigree and milking the […]

After blowing out the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1, the Toronto Raptors seemed well on their way to a berth in the Conference Finals. Less than a week later, though, Nick Nurse’s team suddenly finds itself in a 2-1 hole, one made deeper than it seems given the injury status of one of its best […]

Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers’ injury-prone center, has been a thorn in the side of Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, who now finds his team trailing 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The 7-foot Goliath had his best game of the series with 33 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and five blocks, showing the […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse wasn’t happy with his team’s energy and effort in a Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. The 116-95 loss was the biggest differential in this Eastern Conference Semifinal series thus far, and one that came with plenty of disappointments in all facets of the game. […]

Throughout the regular season, the Toronto Raptors grew accustomed to overwhelming opponents with size and athleticism. Nick Nurse’s team is one of the longest in the league, and with Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam, can count on a pair of overwhelming physical mismatches almost every time it takes the floor. The Philadelphia 76ers, though, aren’t […]

Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol is only averaging 7.9 points per game in the playoffs. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says Gasol is too talented of a player to not score more than that. The Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers are tied at 1-1 in the second round. For Toronto to defeat this talented Sixers squad, […]

The Toronto Raptors lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, and a lot of people believe Nick Nurse — with his rotations in the fourth quarter — played a key role in their defeat. Nick Nurse didn’t play Kawhi Leonard for the first 3:23 of the fourth quarter. He also […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has come under fire from the media on a night when his team fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star tweeted his displeasure with the rotation during the game, pointing out the fact that Nick Nurse was […]

Last week, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse achieved Internet immortality. Clips of his reaction to a three-second call late in Game 4 against the Orlando Magic made the rounds immediately. The young coach will be forever known for the way his jaw dropped in that instance. On Monday night, Nurse was at it again. […]

Amid all the criticisms that Kyle Lowry received after his horrendous Game 1 performance, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse commended the guard and noted that he saw the best of him in their series with the Orlando Magic. Per Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet, Nurse shared his thoughts of Lowry’s overall performance in the […]

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby is progressing in his recovery from an appendectomy and was in good spirits at the team’s practice facility on Monday, according to head coach Nick Nurse. Unfortunately, there’s still no timetable for Anunoby’s return to the court: OG Anunoby is progressing in recovery from his appendectomy. He was at the […]

The Toronto Raptors can close out the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Tuesday night, but history is not on their side. Or is that even relevant? In the past, the Raptors have had playoff struggles, showing an inability to come up big when it really counts. Of […]

For Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Kyle Lowry is ‘tailor-made’ for the playmaker role. He’s no longer the number one or two scoring option for a team. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Per LWOS Toronto Raptors, Nurse commented on how he adjusted Lowry to be a playmaker from being a primary scoring […]

The Toronto Raptors pushed the Orlando Magic to the brink of elimination after their 107-85 Game 4 win on Sunday night. After losing the first game of the series, the Raps stormed back to win three straight games and to put themselves one victory away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Following the game, […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse finds it “a little interesting” that his club has been dealing with foul trouble in the playoffs. Nurse is also confused as to why the Raptors are not getting to the free throw line a lot in their series against the Orlando Magic since his offensive philosophy is to […]

Although Marc Gasol has been getting a bigger share of minutes now that the Toronto Raptors are in the playoffs, Serge Ibaka is still playing a key role. In Friday night’s 98-93 Game 3 victory over the Orlando Magic, Ibaka played important minutes after Gasol got in foul trouble, and head coach Nick Nurse praised […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says star small forward Kawhi Leonard hasn’t been feeling well over the past few days and didn’t practice before Game 3 of their first round series against the Orlando Magic. There was no way Leonard was going to miss Game 3, though. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says big man Serge Ibaka has accepted his bench role in the most professional manner. The Raptors acquired Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies at the February trade deadline. Nurse decided to insert Gasol into the starting lineup and move Ibaka to the bench. No player in the NBA […]

The Toronto Raptors were able to even their first round playoff series against the Orlando Magic at one game apiece with a 111-82 Game 2 victory last Tuesday. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse seemed to have shown no mercy in Game 2, as he didn’t allow his starters to be subbed out of the game […]

It’s easy to believe offense is what drove the Toronto Raptors to a blowout Game 2 victory over the Orlando Magic. After all, the Raptors put up a 119.2 offensive rating, Kawhi Leonard was close to unstoppable en route to 37 points, and Kyle Lowry shook off a scoreless series-opener to score 22 points on […]

Toronto Raptors All-Sar guard Kyle Lowry bounced back from a poor showing in Game 1, and it did not go unnoticed. Head Nick Nurse praised Lowry for his performance in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. The 33-year-old guard helped the Raptors ran away with a 111-82 victory over the […]

Game 1 didn’t go as planned for the Toronto Raptors. The Eastern Conference’s second-best team was upset by the seventh-seed Orlando Magic, losing 104-101 at home. But the Raptors aren’t about to let that happen again. Head coach Nick Nurse thinks his team is ready to give Game 2 whatever it takes. Via Magic beat […]

Although the Toronto Raptors lost Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round series against the Orlando Magic, coach Nick Nurse doesn’t seem to be too worried about his opponent. Orlando stole the game from Toronto behind a game-winning 3-pointer from D.J. Augustin. One of the key factors that resulted in the Magic’s 104-101 win was […]

The Toronto Raptors know very well what they need to achieve to consider the 2018-19 season a success, and head coach Nick Nurse believes they can do it. In a one-on-one interview with Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network, Nurse shared that almost everyone expects them to come out of the East and make it […]

Though his team has already clinched a playoff berth, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he will not hold his starters out of Tuesday night’s regular season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nick Nurse says Raptors plan tonight is to play the regulars. — Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 9, 2019 The Raptors have enjoyed […]

Despite already having clinched a playoffs berth, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse recently announced that the team has no intention of resting any of its players in either of their last two regular season games. Nurse says Raptors want to play last two games out. Thinks team looks fresh, want to have home court […]

If the 2019 playoffs started tomorrow, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse would feel good about his team’s chances of going on a deep run. The Raptors are 51-23 on the season, which is good for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. However, Toronto is just 5-5 in its last 10 games and currently […]

The Toronto Raptors enter play Friday two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite that, head coach Nick Nurse isn’t buying that his squad should chase the Bucks for the top spot, instead choosing to prioritize getting wins each night, saying via Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports: […]

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry will miss his fourth contest in his past five games Friday night when his squad takes on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse acknowledged that Lowry’s ankle is still sore and that the team will not rush him back; although the belief is that he could […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has seen his team go through plenty of ups and downs in a quest for the top spot in the East, but Serge Ibaka’s recent three-game suspension for an altercation with Cleveland Cavaliers big man Marquese Chriss comes as a gut-punch for a team hoping to hit stride in […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has spoken about the fighting incident involving Serge Ibaka. Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, Nurse was asked about his thoughts on Ibaka throwing a punch to Marquese Chriss of the Cleveland Cavaliers in their game on Monday. “I mean, listen, it’s always going to be concerning. We certainly don’t […]

The Toronto Raptors have been cautiously monitoring the health of forward Kawhi Leonard all year. The former Finals MVP has just returned this season after missing almost the entirety of the last one due to a quad injury. Leonard has already sat out games due to load management, as the Raptors want to make sure […]

The Toronto Raptors lost on their home court for just the seventh time all season Tuesday against the Houston Rockets, 107-95. The team still sits within 2.5 games of first place in the Eastern Conference and the league’s best record, but that wasn’t what rookie head coach Nick Nurse was focused on following the loss. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he doesn’t anticipate a lot of load managing for his team down the stretch of the regular season. Raptors star small forward Kawhi Leonard has sat out a few games hear and there for load management. Toronto has been careful with their superstar all season after how his season […]

It’s not unusual for players and coaches to speak kindly on their opponents before or after a game. Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse dished out some serious praise of the Houston Rockets ahead of their Tuesday night matchup. Raptors coach Nick Nurse on the Rockets: "This is a championship level team, no doubt about […]