Everything Nick Nurse

[Primer]

Josh Lewenberg tweeted out before the game that the team held a film session on the Clippers game and nobody spoke but Nick. It worked, at least for one game.

But Golden said coaching doesn't matter. I'm so confused!

[golden]

But Golden said coaching doesn't matter. I'm so confused!

That was PM. Lol. I actually think coaching does matter. Some coaches more than others. And just like players, coaches can have bad seasons and slumps.

[Primer]

That was PM. Lol. I actually think coaching does matter. Some coaches more than others. And just like players, coaches can have bad seasons and slumps.

Ah, my bad. Got you guys confused on that one.

[planetmars]

That was PM. Lol. I actually think coaching does matter. Some coaches more than others. And just like players, coaches can have bad seasons and slumps.

Talent and chemistry is more important.

Nick showing the guys the Clippers film only to get blown away by Memphis the next day isn't a good look. And if he used that for motivation against Phoenix.. well that also wasn't a great game. We turned Phoenix over 25 times, yet still gave up the lead with 4 minutes left. Phoenix was getting into the paint and making 3's just like the Clippers were. They were just severely undermanned and lost in the end.


It's also why 99% of the time, teams with super stars win in the NBA. Talent always beats good coaching.

[MixxAOR]

planetmars is not wrong. Look at Celtics. the turmoil they went through in the beginning of last season and still got to Finals.

I still do believe that coach can get in the way of the team but that only really shows up in playoffs.

[Kagemusha]

Talent and chemistry is more important.

Nick showing the guys the Clippers film only to get blown away by Memphis the next day isn't a good look. And if he used that for motivation against Phoenix.. well that also wasn't a great game. We turned Phoenix over 25 times, yet still gave up the lead with 4 minutes left. Phoenix was getting into the paint and making 3's just like the Clippers were. They were just severely undermanned and lost in the end.


It's also why 99% of the time, teams with super stars win in the NBA. Talent always beats good coaching.

Nick implemented the box and 1 against Steph.
No extra special players are needed to pull that off.

This version of Suns is not in the same league as the Griz.

[planetmars]

Nick implemented the box and 1 against Steph.
No extra special players are needed to pull that off.

This version of Suns is not in the same league as the Griz.

The box and 1 was a strategy that worked but mainly because we had talent. Kawhi, Gasol, Kyle and Pascal were on the floor with Fred. I mean you could have some kid coach, and just have those guys play 1-1 defense or zone all day.. and likely still win.

[golden]

Talent and chemistry is more important.

Nick showing the guys the Clippers film only to get blown away by Memphis the next day isn't a good look. And if he used that for motivation against Phoenix.. well that also wasn't a great game. We turned Phoenix over 25 times, yet still gave up the lead with 4 minutes left. Phoenix was getting into the paint and making 3's just like the Clippers were. They were just severely undermanned and lost in the end.

It's also why 99% of the time, teams with super stars win in the NBA. Talent always beats good coaching.

Talent, of course, is the most important component.

But you also mentioned, chemistry. That's where coaching can have a huge impact.... probably more negative, than floor raising. Coaches decide minutes, lineup combinations, system/role/fit, who gets unconditional shots, who gets to play through mistakes, who is held accountable, etc.... All that stuff I just mentioned has a direct and immediate impact on chemistry & winning games.

That's even in addition to stuff we typically associate with coaching, like: game management, motivation, preparation, player development, etc...

Steve Nash is a perfect example. He was called out for having no structure. He was laughably bad as a coach and was limiting the team from playing to their talent potential. One could argue that Nurse is the opposite of Nash. His complex, high energy defensive systems and lack of ball/man movement on offense, might actually be detrimental to this version of the Raptors. Our shooters need all the help they can get, and ISO ball and lack of touches leads to lack of rhythm. And guys touching the ball more improves the chemistry.

Look at Sacramento. They went from 25th to 6th in ORTG by installing the Warriors ball/man movement system. That's coaching.

[planetmars]

Talent, of course, is the most important component.

But you also mentioned, chemistry. That's where coaching can have a huge impact.... probably more negative, than floor raising. Coaches decide minutes, lineup combinations, system/role/fit, who gets unconditional shots, who gets to play through mistakes, who is held accountable, etc.... All that stuff I just mentioned has a direct and immediate impact on chemistry & winning games.

That's even in addition to stuff we typically associate with coaching, like: game management, motivation, preparation, player development, etc...

Steve Nash is a perfect example. He was called out for having no structure. He was laughably bad as a coach and was limiting the team from playing to their talent potential. One could argue that Nurse is the opposite of Nash. His complex, high energy defensive systems and lack of ball/man movement on offense, might actually be detrimental to this version of the Raptors. Our shooters need all the help they can get, and ISO ball and lack of touches leads to lack of rhythm. And guys touching the ball more improves the chemistry.

Look at Sacramento. They went from 25th to 6th in ORTG by installing the Warriors ball/man movement system. That's coaching.

I think coaching affects chemistry the same way a boss effects an employee in an office. If you have a boss that is difficult to work with, you may not work as optimally than if you have a boss that is easier to work with. That's just blending personalities though. In a multi-billion dollar entity, with players making 7 figure salaries, it's important that this works out most of the time. When a coach loses a locker room.. that's a sign that the personalities aren't meshing, and likely that the talent stinks. But less so that the coach is "bad".

When I think of chemistry on a basketball team I'm referring to acquiring pieces that fit each other cohesively. And that's more on the management of the team than coaching. Raptors as an example only have 3-4 3 point threats this season. In an era where 3pt shooting is so important, that's bad. Otto got hurt. Fred regressed hard. And then you have Gary and Malachi who are both basically backup guards. They go hot and cold and are rarely consistent.

We are also missing key rim protectors. Our only guy (Precious) got hurt right when the season was about to turn around for us. We had to rely on a rookie for half the season to mantle that position.

Nash was a KD big toe away from likely getting to the finals or even winning a championship. He was dealing with a lot of turmoil with the Kyrie stuff, and maybe that stress got to him. He was okay the year before.. and likely would be okay anywhere else, even in Toronto. He just needs the right players, just like Nurse did in 2019 and 2020.

As for Sacramento, their previous coach ran the Warriors while Kerr had back surgery. And was part of a historic season. They didn't have the weapons they do now in guys like Sabonis (an elite passing big man), Heurter, Monk, Murray and allow Fox to run the show as opposed to having to co-carry it with another ball dominant player in Haliburton. It's the chemistry / fit that is helping right the ship, over the coach. Even then the team is just okay, and not going to go far into the playoffs. And that's because the talent at the top is pretty weak.

Mike Brown was also the guy in charge for the first little while with Kobe, Nash and Howard and couldn't do much there. But that's more so because Nash was really old and got hurt. Dwight had chemistry issues with Kobe and was turning from a star player to a role player. He also came back to Cleveland before that and helped them get more lottery picks. And again that was a young team as Lebron was hanging out in South Beach at that point.

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

I'm did this guy just say that Nameless 23 played amazing Defense..WTF are smoking guy, bc I want some...u crazy, stop protecting ball hogg, his been unbearable 2 watch..

[A.I]

The box and 1 was a strategy that worked but mainly because we had talent. Kawhi, Gasol, Kyle and Pascal were on the floor with Fred. I mean you could have some kid coach, and just have those guys play 1-1 defense or zone all day.. and likely still win.

I forgot if it was Nick or Kyle who said it, but they said Nick could call out any play and that team understood what to do. Nick never practiced the Box and 1 with that team, he just used it on the fly and that team knew what to do. Helps having 2 former DPOY and high IQ players like Lowry and Danny.

That team basically had 3 leaders in Kawhi, Gasol and Lowry. One led by example and the other two were vocal.

[MixxAOR]

I forgot if it was Nick or Kyle who said it, but they said Nick could call out any play and that team understood what to do. Nick never practiced the Box and 1 with that team, he just used it on the fly and that team knew what to do. Helps having 2 former DPOY and high IQ players like Lowry and Danny.

That team basically had 3 leaders in Kawhi, Gasol and Lowry. One led by example and the other two were vocal.

Poor Nick. That's like going from driving automatic to now driving manual

[Shredder]

This is off topic; but at the beginning of the season the Raptors were showing off some new monitoring device inside their practice facility. It kept track of a ton of things. I wonder if this new shinning toy might actually be a hindrance then a help for some. Almost an analysis paralysis.

Shots not working right it most be this, or maybe this, or maybe this. Before you know it a player is tweaking his shot mid season and not necessarily for the better.

I know I'm clutching at straws here, but considering we have essentially the same core, and some players are not shooting like last year. I wonder if this could be the "what's different?"

[MixxAOR]

This is off topic; but at the beginning of the season the Raptors were showing off some new monitoring device inside their practice facility. It kept track of a ton of things. I wonder if this new shinning toy might actually be a hindrance then a help for some. Almost an analysis paralysis.

Shots not working right it most be this, or maybe this, or maybe this. Before you know it a player is tweaking his shot mid season and not necessarily for the better.

I know I'm clutching at straws here, but considering we have essentially the same core, and some players are not shooting like last year. I wonder if this could be the "what's different?"

they used that NOAH system for years now. Hard to say if it's hindrance or not. I remember when shooting coach was asking players if they "hop" into shot or step into it. He argued that hop was more efficient. But most players don't even notice they just say it depends on flow of the game.

[G__Deane]

This is off topic; but at the beginning of the season the Raptors were showing off some new monitoring device inside their practice facility. It kept track of a ton of things. I wonder if this new shinning toy might actually be a hindrance then a help for some. Almost an analysis paralysis.

Shots not working right it most be this, or maybe this, or maybe this. Before you know it a player is tweaking his shot mid season and not necessarily for the better.

I know I'm clutching at straws here, but considering we have essentially the same core, and some players are not shooting like last year. I wonder if this could be the "what's different?"

Some talking head brought that up a few weeks ago but I doubt there's a right answer.