Nick Nurse Articles - Page 14

With nearly half of the regular season already in the books, it’s safe to say that the Toronto Raptors struck gold with their coup of Kawhi Leonard last summer from the San Antonio Spurs. The former Finals MVP has been nothing but great for the Raptors, and head coach Nick Nurse could not be happier […]

Toronto Raptors Nick Nurse blamed himself for not getting his players ready against the San Antonio Spurs. Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports: Nurse shoulders a lot of the blame for the loss. "Obviously we didn't have our guys ready to play tonight." — Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 4, 2019 After the first 12 minutes […]

Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard had himself a game on New Year’s Day. The 27-year-old dropped a career-high 45 points on Tuesday as he led his team to a narrow victory against the Utah Jazz, 122-116. Following the contest, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse had nothing but good things to say about his cornerstone stud, […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse remains optimistic about the condition of point guard Kyle Lowry, even claiming that he believes the All-Star guard is nearing a return. Kyle Lowry has only played once in their last eight games due to quad and back issues. He last played against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 22 […]

It has been a highly successful 2018-19 season for the Toronto Raptors so far despite losing both their head coach at the end of last season’s playoff run and their franchise player to a trade with the San Antonio Spurs. But the injury bug has hit them quite a bit the past few weeks with […]

After the Toronto Raptors’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, Nurse expressed his displeasure with the NBA not scheduling Toronto for a Christmas Day game, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: I asked Nick Nurse if he’s disappointed the Raptors, with the NBA’s best record, aren’t playing on Christmas: “A little. […]

The Toronto Raptors continue their surge as the top team in the league despite being slapped with a slew of injuries over the past couple of weeks. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been pleased with how his team has responded despite having some key rotation pieces on the sidelines. “I think we’re handling it […]

The NBA has fined Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse $15,000 for his criticism towards officials: Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for publicly criticizing officiating on his star Kawhi Leonard. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 18, 2018 Nurse’s criticism was in defense of Kawhi Leonard. More specifically, […]

After a tough loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was not pleased with the officiating. His star player, Kawhi Leonard, only shot four free throws the entire game, a number that Nurse found to be embarrassingly low for the physicality of the game: Raptors head coach Nick Nurse […]

Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet offers heartfelt support for head coach Nick Nurse after a big win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Nurse’s mother, Marcella Nurse, passed away last Monday. Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweeted out VanVleet’s words for Nurse, who led the Raptors to the victory even while grieving for the death […]

On Sunday, two of the best players in the NBA will go head-to-head, as Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in a Eastern Conference showdown. Leonard and Antetokounmpo will likely be matched up against each other and Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is looking forward to watching the two […]

Tempers flared on the bench during a Monday night matchup between two of the best teams in the league, the Toronto Raptors and the Denver Nuggets. It was expected to be an exciting and close game, and it is not uncommon in the NBA to see raw emotion displayed on the floor in these scenarios. Sure enough, […]

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse have been named the Coaches of the Month for the first month of the NBA season. The Clippers are the biggest surprise of the season thus far. They are 15-7 on the season, tied for first place in the tough Western […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has a plan for Kyle Lowry and it is all about taking deep 3-pointers. The Raptors boss wants his All-Star point guard to start pulling up from distance more going forward. In fact, this is an aspect of Kyle Lowry’s game that Nick Nurse asked him to work on […]

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is preparing for this Thursday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors and praised the Raptors for their strong play this season, even suggesting it could be an NBA Finals preview. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse took notice: Nick Nurse on Klay Thompson calling tomorrow night's game a possible Finals preview: […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse thinks Gregg Popovich is wrong about Kawhi Leonard. Popovich recently grabbed headlines when he claimed that Leonard wasn’t a leader during his time with the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Pop even said that Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills were the leaders for them — particularly last year — while […]

New Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was hired over the summer. Since then, the franchise underwent a transformation with their roster and have the best record in the league at 12-2. On the opposite end of the world, the Detroit Pistons fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and hired longtime Raptors head coach Dwane […]

The Toronto Raptors are streaking early in the season, and Kyle Lowry is crediting their hot start, in part, to the increased spacing the team is playing with this season. They’re embracing an innovative positionless style of basketball under new head coach Nick Nurse, and Lowry is crediting his teammates with how well the team is […]

Toronto Raptors small forward Kawhi Leonard only played in nine games last season with the San Antonio Spurs due to a lingering quadriceps injury, so the Raptors want to be cautious with the All-Star swingman and are thinking about the big picture. So far in this young season, Leonard has played in five games and […]

The Toronto Raptors traded their beloved franchise player, DeMar DeRozan, in the summer for the very talented but disgruntled Kawhi Leonard. Many pundits and fans were disappointed that the Raptors would be so bold as to give up a loyal soldier for one who could easily bolt for another team over the summer. As it […]

The Toronto Raptors will be one of the most intriguing teams to watch this season, given the roster changes that the team is going through. New head coach Nick Nurse says Toronto’s starting lineup and rotation will be fluid and will change from time to time. TSN’s Josh Lewenberg discussed the arrival of Nurse and Kawhi […]

When the Toronto Raptors fired former head coach Dwane Casey a couple of months ago, many believed that he was used as the scapegoat for the team’s failures over the past few years. However, it appears that the new Detroit Pistions head coach himself has moved on from that episode and has recently stated that […]

Kawhi Leonard was understandably shaking off some rust in the Toronto Raptors first preseason game. But Nick Nurse believes that his superstar player has successfully shaken off the rust from his preseason debut. Leonard tallied 17 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz. Preseason stats are irrelevant. More importantly, […]

Following a controversial summer that eventually saw him unceremoniously parting ways with the San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard recently made his highly-anticipated debut for the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. The Raptors were up against the Portland Trail Blazers, and while Leonard did start the game for his team, there were some obvious signs that he […]

The Toronto Raptors are in a state of flux after the turnover that occurred in the offseason. Nick Nurse is hoping that he can promote a loose atmosphere this season according to Seerat Sohi of SB Nation. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the team, Nurse is giving his players the freedom to play fast and loose. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is not concerned about Kawhi Leonard’s health heading into training camp, noting that it’s “all systems go” heading into training camp, according to Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Leonard has looked good health-wise, but the Raptors are expected to closely monitor him throughout the season, according to Eric […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is happy to be in an ideal situation with one of the best organizations in basketball this year. Nurse was hired in back in June, after the the team decided to part ways with Dwane Casey. Casey led the the Raptors to a 59-23 record, earning them the best […]

The hopes of the Toronto Raptors could hinge on the relationship between Kawhi Leonard and Nick Nurse. Leonard is an intimidating figure, and Nurse knows that if the organization has any chance of retaining the All-Star for the long haul, the coach will have to develop a bond with the mercurial star. According to Eric […]

For years, the Toronto Raptors were constrained by equal parts flawed talent and the presence of LeBron James. Though it’d be unfair to blame former head coach Dwane Casey, he was the one who paid the price. With James gone and an upgraded roster, the Raptors opted for a proactive approach. In many ways, the […]

NBA players are always looking for an edge on their competition any way they can and Toronto Raptors head coach, Nick Nurse’s nephew, David Nurse is at the forefront of the leading technology. David Nurse is looking to change the way players train and help guys take their game to the next level. Figuring out […]

The Toronto Raptors completely flipped the script despite finishing first in the Eastern Conference last season. Franchise player, DeMar DeRozan was traded to the Spurs and Dwane Casey is gone, despite winning Coach of the Year honors. Nick Nurse steps in for Casey and DeRozan is replaced by Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Nurse is […]

Having a team’s head coach and its superstar on the same page is always a big key to success. At least in that area, the Toronto Raptors seem to have nothing to worry about. Next season, the Raptors will have a new pair of head coach-superstar combo as Nick Nurse and Kawhi Leonard have now […]

This is LeBron James’ fault. Last May, the Toronto Raptors suffered a 4-0 sweep in back-to-back seasons at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers after a historic playoff series by the four-time Most Valuable Player. That ultimately led to the firing of coach Dwane Casey who ironically won Coach of the Year honors at the […]

The San Antonio Spurs are finally done with Kawhi Leonard. The drama that his injury issue brought last season was more than the Spurs franchise bargained for. Now, San Antonio is headed in a different direction with a new All-Star player on its roster. According to a recent report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard and […]

The Toronto Raptors are signing last years G-League MVP Lorenzo Brown to one year fully guaranteed contract, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports. Guard Lorenzo Brown is finalizing a one-year deal with the Raptors, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Brown was on a two-way contract with Toronto last season and won G League MVP […]

New Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse expects far more from DeMar DeRozan on the defensive end of the floor next season. How do we know this? He literally said as much. From the Toronto Sun: “I wouldn’t make the comments if I thought he was shying away from it,” Nick Nurse said. “We sat […]

Nick Nurse, the newly-minted head coach of the Toronto Raptors, reflected on what LeBron James’ move to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West means for the East. As reported by John Chick of The Score, Nurse admitted that he wasn’t surprised by James’ decision to go to the Lakers. Months prior to the big […]

The Toronto Raptors will name assistant coach Nick Nurse as their new head coach, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Toronto Raptors are hiring assistant Nick Nurse as the franchise’s new head coach, league sources tell ESPN. Sides are working through details of contract now. The Raptors were one of the last teams to join the […]

Just days after being named Coach of the Year by his peers, Dwane Casey was relieved of his duties with the Toronto Raptors. Now, with the offseason on their horizon, the Raptors are reportedly targeting a few qualified replacements for the position, including Nick Nurse, Rex Kalamian and Jerry Stackhouse. “I get the sense that […]