Nick Nurse Articles - Page 14

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 […]

The Orlando Magic pulled off a stunning 113-98 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, all thanks to sixth man Terrence Ross, who had himself a night against the Eastern Conference powerhouse. Raptors coach Nick Nurse lauded Ross for his efforts and made the important distinction of his role coming off the bench. “They obviously […]

In DeMar DeRozan’s first visit to Scotiabank Arena as an opponent, it was his former’s team’s rookie head coach that briefly stole the spotlight. With three minutes and 33 seconds left in the Toronto Raptors’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, Nick Nurse earned his first ejection as an NBA coach after arguing […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse worked diligently with DeMar DeRozan over the years while he was the assistant coach in Toronto and the 51-year-old enjoyed his time working with the All-Star shooting guard. DeRozan makes his much-anticipated return to Toronto on Friday as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. It’s going to be […]

Marc Gasol has come off the bench in his first three games with the Toronto Raptors while the more tenured Serge Ibaka continues to start at center. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is still undecided on which of the two “Spaniards” to match up with LaMarcus Aldridge and the San […]

Newly-acquired big man Marc Gasol scored seven points and six rebounds as a reserve in his Toronto debut, but Raptors head coach Nick Nurse hasn’t set his starting lineup in stone just yet, according to a report from Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. The Raptors dealt for Gasol just before this season’s trade deadline. The […]

Kawhi Leonard’s last four games have showcased a noticeable dip in performance, shortly after coming back from a team-induced four-game rest past the halfway point of the season. The Toronto Raptors star was putting up 27.9 points per game on 50.3 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from deep through his first 38 games […]

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, […]