Everything Nick Nurse

[golden]

We now have 2 former DPOYs (Kawhi, Gasol) on our roster + 2 former NBA All-Defense members (Ibaka, Green) + 2 switch everything defenders with All-NBA potential (OG/Siakam) + 2 above average defenders (Lowry & McCaw). That's 8 good-to-great defenders.

There's been a lot of talk about how bad the offense has looked at times, but if Nurse can't cobble together an elite top 3 defense with this group, then you have to consider that a huge coaching failure. The defensive potential and versatility is through the roof.

[planetmars]

We now have 2 former DPOYs (Kawhi, Gasol) on our roster + 2 former NBA All-Defense members (Ibaka, Green) + 2 switch everything defenders with All-NBA potential (OG/Siakam) + 2 above average defenders (Lowry & McCaw). That's 8 good-to-great defenders.

There's been a lot of talk about how bad the offense has looked at times, but if Nurse can't cobble together an elite top 3 defense with this group, then you have to consider that a huge coaching failure. The defensive potential and versatility is through the roof.

I think when people say "former DPOY" its a bit deceiving.

Kawhi looks like he's going at half his usual pace on most defensive possessions. He's never guarding the best player on the other team like he used to do in San Antonio. He's not moving around screens as hard as he should. He's got the length to deflect shots and has in some plays but can also get lost. But he's most definitely not playing like a DPOY should be.

Gasol is 34 years old now. I mean Noah was also a DPOY winner. As was Tyson Chandler. Dwight Howard won it 3 times. The game has changed since he last won it (2013). Gritting N' Grinding your way to wins is not going to get you far these days. He's a smart player but he's not going to be the type of guy that's going to be protecting the rim very well.

Serge is not leading the league in blocks anymore. Danny Green is a step slower than he was in San Antonio.

If we look at yesterdays' game for example. How many times did Serge, or Danny or Pascal blow a defensive assignment?

Nurse definitely has some blame here.. we were a better defensive team under Casey with DeMar playing significant minutes. But I don't put all the blame on Nurse.

[golden]

I think when people say "former DPOY" its a bit deceiving.

Kawhi looks like he's going at half his usual pace on most defensive possessions. He's never guarding the best player on the other team like he used to do in San Antonio. He's not moving around screens as hard as he should. He's got the length to deflect shots and has in some plays but can also get lost. But he's most definitely not playing like a DPOY should be.

Serge is not leading the league in blocks anymore. Danny Green is a step slower than he was in San Antonio.

If we look at yesterdays' game for example. How many times did Serge, or Danny or Pascal blow a defensive assignment?

These things (in bold, above) are supposed to be improved by coaching. And why has OG fallen off the map, when we trusted him to guard Lebron in the playoffs last year?

[planetmars]

These things (in bold, above) are supposed to be improved by coaching. And why has OG fallen off the map, when we trusted him to guard Lebron in the playoffs last year?

I don't quite agree. These are professional athletes. Are they blowing a rotation because of bad system? Or because the players themselves were at fault?

And yeah I guess Nick could sick Kawhi on the best offensive player. But on the other hand Kawhi may prefer not to. Kawhi has looked a step slow all season. He's either nursing his injury or playing it safe for free agency.. or prefers not to give 100% until the playoffs. And at that time may have no issues guarding guys like Kyrie or Giannis. At least that's my hope anyway.

[G__Deane]

“When you start to see the ball go through the net a little more you start to feel good, and you see your teammates and your coaches getting excited as well,” Gasol said. “It’s a cool moment to have. At the end, I got a little tired and had to come out.”

It's not as if he's wholly without fault, but some fans on here just seem overly committed to criticizing Nurse at all costs. It's like they want him and the team to fail in some ways. It's constant in some games as you watch the same posters pile on....and it's weird.

[LJ2]

“When you start to see the ball go through the net a little more you start to feel good, and you see your teammates and your coaches getting excited as well,” Gasol said. “It’s a cool moment to have. At the end, I got a little tired and had to come out.”

It's not as if he's wholly without fault, but some fans on here just seem overly committed to criticizing Nurse at all costs. It's like they want him and the team to fail in some ways. It's constant in some games as you watch the same posters pile on....and it's weird.

LOL, perhaps you missed the Casey era?

[golden]

I don't quite agree. These are professional athletes. Are they blowing a rotation because of bad system? Or because the players themselves were at fault?

And yeah I guess Nick could sick Kawhi on the best offensive player. But on the other hand Kawhi may prefer not to. Kawhi has looked a step slow all season. He's either nursing his injury or playing it safe for free agency.. or prefers not to give 100% until the playoffs. And at that time may have no issues guarding guys like Kyrie or Giannis. At least that's my hope anyway.

Blowing a rotation (or anything else that happens on the court, for that matter) is the player's fault - but they need to be held accountable for that by the coach. Pop would call timeouts, pull guys out of games and chew them out on the sidelines for all to see, for simple stuff like that. Just to prove a point. And you can't blame the chemistry issues for the lackadaisical starts, because this starting lineup has been together the whole season. It's a effort & focus issue - Kawhi pretty much inferred that in the post-game, i.e., not following the gameplan.

IMO, this team thinks they can flip the switch, offensively and defensively. And maybe they can. They're treating the regular season like pre-season games, and selectively switching on the effort and focus. But they're also building bad habits, like the team that got swept by the Wizards. Hopefully, they really can find that switch when they need it.

[slaw]

We now have 2 former DPOYs (Kawhi, Gasol) on our roster + 2 former NBA All-Defense members (Ibaka, Green) + 2 switch everything defenders with All-NBA potential (OG/Siakam) + 2 above average defenders (Lowry & McCaw). That's 8 good-to-great defenders.

There's been a lot of talk about how bad the offense has looked at times, but if Nurse can't cobble together an elite top 3 defense with this group, then you have to consider that a huge coaching failure. The defensive potential and versatility is through the roof.

What does a 'top 3 elite defense' mean? The Raps are tied for 7th in DRTG (and really 6th since the .2 differential is meaningless). The difference to the third 'elite(?)' defensive team is 1.5. Meh. In terms of four factors, they are .511 efg% against, which is basically the same as every other team in the top ten outside of the Bucks.

That's despite all of the absences and injuries they've had and, let's be honest, the lack of effort over 48 minutes on a lot of nights.

[golden]

What does a 'top 3 elite defense' mean? The Raps are tied for 7th in DRTG (and really 6th since the .2 differential is meaningless). The difference to the third 'elite(?)' defensive team is 1.5. Meh. In terms of four factors, they are .511 efg% against, which is basically the same as every other team in the top ten outside of the Bucks.

That's despite all of the absences and injuries they've had and, let's be honest, the lack of effort over 48 minutes on a lot of nights.

I'm actually with you on the 'effort' thing, slaw. Tradeoff is developing bad habits. The potential is certainly there, especially with playoff games allowing more rest in between games and more TV timeouts within games. This favors veteran players with experience.

[Maury]

I really don’t mind the fact that they flip the switch when it matters. They clearly are capable of flipping the switch when they want to and that’s a great sign for the playoffs. We never had the extra gear that all the great teams had in the playoffs, now we do. I’m fine with it. Teams like Milwaukee might not have it. They play really really hard every night and I can see the shots suddenly stop falling when it matters and they’ll struggle in the playoffs to win.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

I think when people say "former DPOY" its a bit deceiving.

Kawhi looks like he's going at half his usual pace on most defensive possessions. He's never guarding the best player on the other team like he used to do in San Antonio. He's not moving around screens as hard as he should. He's got the length to deflect shots and has in some plays but can also get lost. But he's most definitely not playing like a DPOY should be.

Gasol is 34 years old now. I mean Noah was also a DPOY winner. As was Tyson Chandler. Dwight Howard won it 3 times. The game has changed since he last won it (2013). Gritting N' Grinding your way to wins is not going to get you far these days. He's a smart player but he's not going to be the type of guy that's going to be protecting the rim very well.

Serge is not leading the league in blocks anymore. Danny Green is a step slower than he was in San Antonio.

If we look at yesterdays' game for example. How many times did Serge, or Danny or Pascal blow a defensive assignment?

Nurse definitely has some blame here.. we were a better defensive team under Casey with DeMar playing significant minutes. But I don't put all the blame on Nurse.

I do. He has significantly better defensive personnel. He has Green and Kawhi on the wings, still has OG off the bench. He has an actual modern power forward at the 4 now (Siakam) and Ibaka playing his best defensive position at the 5. Wtf is the excuse? We should be #1 or #2 in defense given we were 5th last year. Instead we're 8th.

[LJ2]

I do. He has significantly better defensive personnel. He has Green and Kawhi on the wings, still has OG off the bench. He has an actual modern power forward at the 4 now (Siakam) and Ibaka playing his best defensive position at the 5. Wtf is the excuse? We should be #1 or #2 in defense given we were 5th last year. Instead we're 8th.

Might I suggest we are also an older team this season. DG, Lowry, and Ibaka are not as spry as they used to be. Teams like the Bucks and Celtics have a lot of youth on their roster that aids with the "effort" portion required for playing good defense. I think the Raptors continue this way until the playoffs.

[MixxAOR]

A lot of players regressed under Nurse: Wright, FVV and CJ. Only interesting thing defensively he incorporated was zone. He's getting called White Casey and it sounds pretty true right now.

[3inthekeon]

A lot of players regressed under Nurse: Wright, FVV and CJ. Only interesting thing defensively he incorporated was zone. He's getting called White Casey and it sounds pretty true right now.

Why not start a "Fire Nurse" thread?

[MixxAOR]

Why not start a "Fire Nurse" thread?

that honor belongs to Shaolin