Everything Nick Nurse

[gambler]

Raptors now have each one of the 5 starters averaging 15+ ppg. That can't be very common, is there another team doing that? I can see that kind of distribution throwing opposing teams off a bit.

Vogel: "Fiz, I don't wanna get blownout again, who are we guarding here, who's the top dog on this Raptor team?"
Fizdale: "Well, no one, but also...everyone..."
Vogel: "fine, what about the other end, who do we hunt for in switches?"
Fizdale: "Err...[scratches head]...just.. throw a zone at them on our end and hope for the best"

charlotte hornets.....one of the highest scoring teams in the league when thayward is not injured.....but they are one of the worst rebounders and defensive rated teams....imo...this would be the difference in a celtics/raptors series where toronto has legit five guys that can score whereas boston has three. sure the celtics have the two best guys on the floor.....but then the raptors next three are better(trent will fuk up overated smart in the playoffs) and then you look at the bench which could be argued as a push at best for the celtics...this is why thad was such a huge pick-up for the raptors...hes giong to give you 20 min/game with an 18 per and 110 defensive rating wheras yuta woudve been a 12 per with a 113 defensive rating in 10 minutes....massai and nurse know this and know they would have no chance with yuta in the 9 man rotation


i think its an even money series yet the celtics are an inexpicable +850 to win the east right now to the raptors +4000

[The Great One]

Say it louder for the people in the back! best coach in the NBA.

[A.I]

Say it louder for the people in the back! best coach in the NBA.

He isn't perfect, but he is damn good at his job.

[Jclaw]

Say it louder for the people in the back! best coach in the NBA.

Unfortunately, it’s less impressive if you read the thread. He’s shouting out all the coaches who have succeeded against adversity in response to people complaining Lue wasn’t getting enough credit for the Clippers’ “success”.

[golden]

He isn't perfect, but he is damn good at his job.

Well, that's the finally the right perspective. Nurse is probably top 5-7 in the league and we all should be glad to have a well-respected coach leading the Raptors.

But.... it was getting a bit nauseating to hear every great thing that has been (or is) happening to the Raptors since the #WeTheNorth Era started being attributed to Nurse, and every negative thing being blamed on anybody but Nurse. It was also getting impossible to mention how other coaches are/were doing good things around the league without people getting their backs up.

[G__Deane]

Well, that's the finally the right perspective. Nurse is probably top 5-7 in the league and we all should be glad to have a well-respected coach leading the Raptors.

But.... it was getting a bit nauseating to hear every great thing that has been (or is) happening to the Raptors since the #WeTheNorth Era started being attributed to Nurse, and every negative thing being blamed on anybody but Nurse. It was also getting impossible to mention how other coaches are/were doing good things around the league without people getting their backs up.

I guess it is perspective.
After every loss, there's a constant run of "wrong lineups, started slow again (that's on Nurse), playing them too many minutes, bad time outs, poor substitutions, not giving X player enough floor time" etc

Then he gets just about zero credit for any development from Pascal, Fred, OG, Barnes etc.Criticized for not palying Achiuwa and no credit when he turns the corner from hands of stone to serviceable you player with upside.

I've said all along that he's far from perfect but he gets way too much criticism from the armchair quarterhacks. Virtually every quote I have seen from his players is singing his praises with the only hint of friction from Pascal and no idea what that was even about. Kyle loved him, Fred loves him, OG loves him, good enough for me.

I wanted Stack to get a crack when Casey was fired; turns out they made the right decision.

[The Claw Reborn]

I guess it is perspective.
After every loss, there's a constant run of "wrong lineups, started slow again (that's on Nurse), playing them too many minutes, bad time outs, poor substitutions, not giving X player enough floor time" etc

Then he gets just about zero credit for any development from Pascal, Fred, OG, Barnes etc.Criticized for not palying Achiuwa and no credit when he turns the corner from hands of stone to serviceable you player with upside.

I've said all along that he's far from perfect but he gets way too much criticism from the armchair quarterhacks. Virtually every quote I have seen from his players is singing his praises with the only hint of friction from Pascal and no idea what that was even about. Kyle loved him, Fred loves him, OG loves him, good enough for me.

I wanted Stack to get a crack when Casey was fired; turns out they made the right decision.

The Raptors have had Siakam, Anunoby, VanVleet, and Barnes ( a rookie) for just 22 games this season. Those guys aren’t even superstars, but he’s only had them for 22 games and yet the Raptors are 40-32, eight games OVER .500. Nick Nurse is worth the hype.

in fairness to those armchair hacks (I hope I’m not included lol)….based on the quote above, something to think about if there is some kind of correlation is the fact that Siakam/ VanVleet/ OG and Barnes are currently in the league’s top 10 in played minutes with VanVleet and his ailing knee leading the charge (no.1).

[G__Deane]

in fairness to those armchair hacks (I hope I’m not included lol)….based on the quote above, something to think about if there is some kind of correlation is the fact that Siakam/ VanVleet/ OG and Barnes are currently in the league’s top 10 in played minutes with VanVleet and his ailing knee leading the charge (no.1).

I wouldn't argue witht the idea that heavy minutes could have contributed to injuries on this team. But it doesn't explain many teams that have season long or extensive injuries of their own under lighter minute loads. Kawhi, Murray, lebron, The Brow, PG, Durant, Lowry, Harden etc have all missed significant minutes and last I checked, none are currently burdened by Nick Nurse as their head coach.

And fails to address the state of this bench at the beginning of the year that might, just might have necessitated heavier loads for the starters if you actually wanted to .... win. Leading to the Raptors currently exceeding consensus expectations.

So yeah, Nurse deserves some slack here.

[golden]

People don't appreciate how much the business side of sports dominates choices on the court. Fred really, really wanted to be an all-star this year... so playing 40MPG allowed him to pump up his raw stats leading up to the all-star selection. He mentioned something about how 18-6 is now considered a 'bad night' when you're an all-star, so he's very conscious of his own stats. He achieved his all-star goal and now his all-star pedigree is going to factor into his next contract, for which he will be looking for the max.

Over-playing Fred also helped Nurse get some wins, rather than give bench guys more development minutes. It's a win-win from a personal career / business standpoint and both Nurse and Fred, who have both talked openly about the importance of business aspect of basketball.

Time will tell if we can dodge the bullet or if this becomes another Thibs-Rose situation.

[The Great One]

[G__Deane]

LOL why would he go to that tire fire?

[saints91]

The Lakers aren't even in the playoffs, and they need their media outlets to still keep them relevant... Shut up and hit the golf courses already.

[Kagemusha]

The Lakers is entering Knicks territory

[TrueTorontoFan]

The Lakers is entering Knicks territory

they did win a chip recently... I just don't know if it was worth it because they don't have any moves left and won't be good for a while. It will be difficult for them to become half way decent without taking a meaningful step back next year.. I don't think they want to waste a year of lebron. Wall won't help them and will cost a pick potentially to trade. If I was Houston I would be adamant that I wouldn't be taking on Westbrook without that. Charlotte has been rumored for Westbrook but it doesn't make sense ... I think they would be smarter if they went after gobert using Hayward and others to make up the salaries and then added in picks.

[A.I]

Well I mean they can ask, Nick and Masai will die of laughter.