Nick Nurse on Raptors use of zone defense, Kawhi Leonard’s passing

Nick Nurse on the Raptors use of the zone defense to turn the game around against the Grizzlies.

The Raptors deployed a zone defense in the third quarter to shift the momentum after a dismal first half. They outscored the Grizzlies 34-26 in the third for a come-from-behind 122-114 win.

Check the Quick Reaction and the post-game podcast.

After the game, Nick Nurse commented on the Raptors use of the zone:

I was getting tired of not guarding them so I thought I’d try a little zone, and it got them a little [out of rhythm], that’s what you use it for, the nights where you try to get them out of rhythm a little bit. Fortunately, it worked. We kind of put it on and put it off a little bit, and it kind of got us to a good stretch in the third.

Kawhi Leonard also drew some praise from Nurse on his passing tonight. Leonard had five assists, which was a high for him as a Raptor:

Anytime he dribbles it more than once there’s at least two if not three guys coming to take a swat at it. He’s got to see some of that and you can’t really practice it, right? You can only see it in games, and he’s going to get a lot of that attention, and he’s got to start finding people and he did there for a stretch tonight. Fortunately, they made [the shots].

Here’s the full interview: