https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIo6RPYPFNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hKOpmxZAM0
The NBA's 30 head coaches vote on the award. Toronto's Nick Nurse was one vote away from making it a three-way tie, per sources. https://t.co/ieujiIrsDB
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2020
I guess Nick Nurse team gotta go 82-0 huh? It’s no way in hell he shouldn’t have got Coach Of The Year…Damn shame!!! That is all…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 3, 2020
Nick Nurse said Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have spoken to Terence Davis in regards to the picture that's circulating of him wearing a mask with a hole in it. "Leadership is taking care of it."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) August 3, 2020
The best #leader in @Raptors player history @Klow7
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) August 2, 2020
10 things: Fred VanVleet comes up clutch in gritty win over Heat – Yahoo!
Two — Wow: At first, it looked as if Fred VanVleet would continue to struggle as he did in the scrimmage games. He got his shot blocked a few times, and didn’t quite look to have the ability to create separation. That all turned around in a hurry, as VanVleet poured in a career-high 36 points on an assortment of daredevil drives and deep threes. The main weakness in Miami’s defense is that they have nobody to guard at the point of attack, as most of their best defenders are bulkier wing players. VanVleet got whatever he wanted against Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic, and he defiled the corpse of Andre Iguodala with a rainbow three that was reminiscent of Game 6 from the NBA Finals.
Dissecting the Raptors-Heat season series and its potential playoff implications – The Athletic
That some of the bigger questions coming into the final meeting went unanswered was to be expected. Nurse and Spoelstra are elite coaches, and even as their teams try to find their top gear here in the relaunch, they’re not going to give an opponent ample opportunity to find those answers if they don’t have to. But keeping things in the back pocket for later usually goes out the window with the game on the line.
In the past, Spoelstra had gotten better of the Raptors in tight games, with Nurse’s version of the team bouncing back to sweep the four-game series last year, including two tight wins. The Heat had the edge earlier this year, but Nurse had his team ready for Spoelstra’s after-timeout plays Monday, sniffing out Butler actions twice in the closing seconds for turnovers.
On the first, Lowry gets just enough of an edge defending on the inside of Butler’s cut and forces it out of bounds. On the second, VanVleet was sitting on Butler’s left shoulder if he took Lowry middle on a post up. That left him in the right spot to jump the passing lane with his heavy hands when Dragic cut to the paint after a decoy back-pick on Gasol.
“I think we have one of the better coaching staffs in the league, starting with Nick and going down, those guys, they work relentlessly on giving us the best look,” VanVleet said. “And then we’ve got a veteran team that’s locked into the game plan and stay locked in to switch, whether it’s possession to possession, quarter to quarter, or game to game, we’re switching schemes, we’re doing different things and just not giving the same looks over and over again, keeping them guessing.”
That was well-scouted, and the Raptors are well-suited to remove any options in the paint late in games. Considering it appeared the Heat were holding a little back and Nurse has always leaned toward doing the same, the approaches might look different in a playoff series. That series would have the potential to be a very fun tactical chess matches. No disrespect to 1.5-time NBCA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer, but Nurse-Spoelstra is the marquee coaching matchup on the board.
Both coaches have also been among the leaders in staying on message in the bubble, with Spoelstra urging people to learn more about how powerful their votes are before the game and Nurse continuing to push that same message at most opportunities.
Fred VanVleet’s intelligence shines all over the floor in Raptors’ win over Heat – The Athletic
Forget the career-high 36 points Monday afternoon; VanVleet led the league in deflections per game with 4.2. Monday’s play showed that he does not just do it when opponents aren’t paying attention in the second quarter of some meaningless midseason game.
“It’s deceiving because you’re kind of seeing him bring the ball up the floor, running up the floor or whatever, and you think, ‘Well, he’s not that athletic or fast or quick or anything,’” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “But his side-to-side athleticism is outstanding. That’s why he can get into the ball, and he can kind of uses his torso to stay in front of people and that kind of stuff. … He’s just got great IQ. He anticipates. He’s a step ahead sometimes.”
“Staying locked in (defensively) is probably my favourite thing that I do,” VanVleet added, “and it gets the least amount of credit.”
His disruption is a key element to the Raptors’ second-ranked defence, even if it is unlikely to get recognized when the league names its All-Defense teams. (The Raptors are likely to be the victim of vote splitting.) VanVleet’s IQ helps him on that end, to be sure. However, his intelligence shows all over the floor.
Against the Heat, VanVleet drilled seven 3-pointers, including a ludicrous high-arching stepback shot from the top of the key over Andre Iguodala, and those will make up the majority of his highlight reel. What he did when the Heat adapted to his hot shooting night was nearly as impressive.
Miami trapped VanVleet on two-man actions after the Raptors got going, and although the aggressive defence put him in tight situations, he did not turn over the ball. On one play, VanVleet rode the trap to the far sideline before throwing a pass across the grain to Pascal Siakam in the opposite corner.
“I think I’m pretty comfortable with the blitzing, with the trapping,” VanVleet said. “Obviously they’re an aggressive team, so (I) just try to be prepared for that. But I don’t get blitzed that often, so as a team, it’s going to take a little adjusting. (I need to) just try to keep beating the bigs around (the corner) and being aggressive at the rim.”
The Raptors Are Providing Good Reason to Fear the North – The Ringer
Most NBA teams play four shooters around one big man to space the floor. Some, like Houston, invert the normal relationship so that the center plays beyond the 3-point line to create space for a non-shooter like Russell Westbrook. Toronto is one of only two teams who play five shooters the entire game. The other is Dallas, which has the top offense of all time. They both split playing time at center between two stretch big men—Marc Gasol and Ibaka for the Raptors and Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber for the Mavs. But that’s where the similarities end.
Dallas doubles down on offense at the cost of its defense, which ranks 17th in the league. Toronto has the 12th-ranked offense and second-ranked defense. The Raptors use their floor spacing to get away with playing five elite defenders. Their offense just has to be good enough so they can win with their defense. That’s why they haven’t needed an MVP-caliber player to replace Kawhi this season. They just needed a similar defensive player who could space the floor, which they already have in Anunoby.
The Raptors have no weak links on defense. Gasol and Ibaka are great rim protectors, while Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Norm Powell are three of the most athletic wings in the league, and Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet are powerfully built ball hawks who play much bigger than their size. It’s tough to beat any team when all of its shooters can play defense, too.
But Toronto doesn’t sit back and play conservative defense, either. The key to winning games on that side of the ball is to force the issue and take away the strengths of opponents. Nurse loves to attack the very weakness that his own offense doesn’t have. No team in the NBA is more aggressive about doubling the ball and forcing it into the hands of non-shooters; one example is the box-and-one they used on Steph Curry in last year’s Finals.
On career-high day, VanVleet’s biggest play for Raptors was on defence – Sportsnet.ca
A great defender might be born but even at the NBA level it normally takes time for the ability to read plays to catch up with the required knowledge. Lots of players — even good ones — never get there. VanVleet seemed to figure it out halfway through training camp in his rookie year.
“He’s played great at every level, it just took him a moment to learn the defence in the NBA… the terminology, and where you’re supposed to be and all that kind of stuff, but I would just say he probably plays beyond his years in the league because of his IQ,” Nurse said.
It was all on display as VanVleet stymied what would have been the tying score to conclude a comeback from what had been a 15-point lead built when VanVleet was on fire in the third.
On the key defensive stop, the key moment comes after Dragic sets the screen and Crowder starts running for the rim. VanVleet turns his attention from Lowry and Butler and takes one hard step to his left.
It’s almost nothing in the scheme of things but it’s just enough to give Gasol the blink he needs to get a better angle on Crowder and erase the lob threat.
More importantly, VanVleet’s hard step briefly creates the illusion that Dragic is going to be open after he sets the screen and rolls to the basket.
Butler buys into the mirage and tries to hit Dragic with a bounce pass for what would be a game-tying lay-up.
But VanVleet is way ahead of him. After faking toward Crowder he slides back across the lane and gets his body in front of Dragic while getting his right hand in on Butler’s pass before Dragic can get his two hands on it.
Steal, turnover, game over.
Referee admits Kelly Olynyk flagrant call was wrong – ESPN
The foul in question came after Lowry corralled a defensive rebound in the backcourt with 6:56 remaining in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 92. After the foul was upgraded to a flagrant foul 1, Lowry made both free throws, and then made a nice move into the lane to hit Serge Ibaka for a layup to give the Raptors a 96-92 lead with 6:37 remaining.
Toronto would never relinquish its lead the rest of the way — though Miami had a chance to tie the game when Goran Dragic missed a free throw with 41.4 seconds remaining (the only foul shot Miami missed all game, as the Heat went 15-for-16 from the free throw line) and then failed to get a single shot attempt off on either of its ensuing two possessions with chances to either tie or win the game.
Miami will be back in action Tuesday against the Boston Celtics, while Toronto plays again Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
Toronto Raptors continue to turn heads in the bubble with win over Miami Heat – TSN.ca
The praise they’re getting isn’t undeserved of course, but it does feel a bit strange. After years of fretting over perceived slights and feeling overlooked by its neighbours south of the border, Canada’s only NBA team – and its fan base – is more accustomed to being disrespected or ignored than receiving pats on the back.
Even after winning the championship, they’ve happily settled back into a familiar role as plucky underdogs.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to pay much attention, they never seem to, but it’s OK,” head coach Nick Nurse joked after his team knocked off the Western Conference-leading Lakers on U.S. national television.
Just to make sure Raptors fans weren’t getting too comfortable as darlings of the league, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced the co-winners of their annual Coach of the Year award on Monday – Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan. Nurse finished one vote shy of forcing a three-way tie, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Now that’s more like it. It was a reminder of simpler times – a time when rookie-sophomore game snubs and SI.com player rankings were worth getting riled up over. Remember when those things seemed important?
To be clear, this is not the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which has already been voted on by the media and will be announced during the playoffs, and which Nurse will very likely win. This is an honour for coaches, by coaches. Nurse and his 29 peers voted, and – as many folks around the association were quick to point out after Wojnarowski reported the news an hour or so before the Raptors tipped off against the Heat – they got it wrong.
“Those guys obviously did a great job,” said Nurse, who hadn’t seen the report until he was made aware of it during his pre-game media session. “You can’t argue with the Bucks’ record and how great OKC did after everybody had lower expectations for them. So, those guys are very deserving.”
Takeaways from the Miami Heat’s loss to Toronto Raptors | Miami Herald
The Heat’s rally was powered by the three-ball, as it made 9 of its final 20 threes of the game. But it just wasn’t enough to overcome a 5-of-25 shooting start from deep.
“I felt like we were just missing shots. We were getting good looks,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “We were just missing shots. That’s the bottom line.”
The Raptors’ defense definitely deserves credit, especially considering that it owns the NBA’s second-best defensive rating. But the Heat also missed a number of open threes throughout the game.
“Those looks were wide open,” Spoelstra said. “I’ll have to check the film, but there were a lot of them that we missed where there wasn’t a defender near us. But they’re good. They cover ground. They really do protect the paint. You have to be extremely disciplined to make the right play and make the right read. I was good with those looks in the first half. In the second half, we started to knock some of those down.”
It was obvious that Toronto was determined to take Miami sharpshooter Duncan Robinson out of the game, as he finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting from deep. Robinson, who is tied for the second-most made threes in the league this season at 247, is averaging 3.7 three-point makes on 8.3 three-point attempts per game.
“It hinders us because Duncan is one of the best shooters in the NBA,” Adebayo said of Robinson’s limited looks. “I feel like we got so caught up in the game that we didn’t even realize that Duncan had only taken four shots. That can’t happen to our best shooter.”
It didn’t help that the Heat attempted only 16 free throws Monday. That’s well below the Heat’s season average of 25.2 free-throw attempts per game, which is the fourth-most in the NBA.
Miami Heat fall short 107-103 in final moments to Toronto Raptors – Hot Hot Hoops
In their first home game in months, Miami couldn’t get their offense flowing in the first quarter despite consistent good looks at the basket. As a team they only mustered 17 points for the quarter but stayed within striking distance thanks to the efforts of Jimmy Butler, who scored the first six points and dished out an assist to Jae Crowder, who again started in place of Meyers Leonard and finished with 16 points, for the 3-pointer. Kendrick Nunn never got going for the Heat and Bam Adebayo also struggled to make an impact in the game early.
Those early good looks from deep went away as the Raptors adjusted their defense and managed to contain Nunn and Duncan Robinson, who was in danger of breaking his streak of 3-pointers until the second half, to just five total points for the two starters. Combined with just 10 points from Adebayo, Miami was still able to play the defending NBA champs evenly thanks to their depth, with Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk responsible for 54 of the team’s 103 points.
This despite Kyle Lowry struggling with foul trouble, but a career-high 36 points from Fred VanVleet — who was unstoppable from long range with seven 3s and cutting to the basket — led the way for Toronto, who always seemed to have an answer when the Heat made a run. With the Raptors in control of the game leading by 17 midway through the third quarter, the Heat went on their first substantial run of the game and took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game.
Again the Raptors fought back, but Dragic had a chance to tie the game late but missed a free throw, a costly one given it was the team’s first miss in 16 tries. However the Heat still had two opportunities to retake the lead in crunch time but failed to even attempt a shot with unforced turnovers and the Raptors would hold on for their second win in two games since the restart.
Miami Heat: 2 key ‘teachable moments’ help heat lose to Toronto Raptors – All U Can Heat
The Miami Heat have to be more precise in their spacing, passing, and playcalling in general in these moments if they want to win these types of gut it out, back and forth, all grit contests. They struggled to hit shots from the start, which contributed to the deficit in the first place but if you are going to fight back from 17 down, why not get it done and win the game!
Being better on one of those key plays, preferably BOTH, could have been all it took to change the outcome of the game. It was such a tough contest, the one you love to see as a fan and also the one that you most hate to lose.
The Miami Heat led the season series 2-0 until this game and that is alright that they now lead 2-1. There is no more time to wallow in the sorrow of this defeat though, as they have to get their minds together to do it all over again tomorrow.
Heat fall to Raptors, but don’t rule out NBA Finals for Miami | Miami Herald
This eight-game regular-season restart will be over and the playoffs will be here in a flash. Can the Heat actually get through the Eastern Conference?
I say yes. Still. No matter Monday’s loss, which saw the Heat play badly overall, once trailing by 17 points in the third quarter, before fighting back for a shot at winning in the final minute.
Reigning champ Toronto and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks are the largest East hurdles for Miami. Small sample, but the Heat were 2-0 vs. the Raptors before this loss, and are 2-0 this season vs. the Bucks.
I watched Miami handle a pretty good Denver team 125-105 on Saturday to reopen the pandemic-delayed season, and I thought I was seeing a team that can beat anybody in the East.
I wasn’t alone.
Amin Elhassan, the NBA analyst for ESPN, is a former longtime league executive, most recently as assistant director of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns. He said this of the Heat on Sunday:
“If they stay in the four or five seed and play Milwaukee in the second round, I don’t think its beyond the imagination: They’re gonna beat the Bucks in the second round and they go to the conference finals at least,” Elhassan told us in a conversation for our latest podcast.
Miami in fact, even with this loss, is 17-7 this season against the eight other East teams still alive.
Q: The referee even went into an “eloquent” explanation on camera about the flagrant foul call on Kelly Olynyk just so he could have his moment on stage. But even Knicks fans like Spike Lee or Mike Rappaport would admit that was an awful call against Miami. — Phil.
A: Here’s the thing, I didn’t find the call by referee Tre Maddox or the upgrade confirmation by referee David Guthrie of a Flagrant 1 foul on Kelly Olynyk in Monday’s loss to the Raptors to be that egregious. You see those go either way all the time, especially in real time, especially in the moment. In fact, I was surprised that it was elevated to the point of a pool reporter being called upon for clarification. To his credit, Guthrie said after looking at it postgame he believed he got it wrong. But even as crew chief, he was only one of at least five pairs of eyes (when factoring in the Review Center) that was part of the immediate video deliberations. There is no way anyone should believe a review call is egregiously wrong with so many eyes on the video. What it shows is just how much remains open to interpretation with flagrant fouls. Yes, it was a game-changing moment. But it hardly was a stain on officiating.
Recap: On career afternoon for Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors beat Miami Heat 107-103 – Raptors HQ
The result was just good enough to get Toronto the win, as they took the game 107-103 and improved to 2-0 in the restart — their sixth straight win overall. They move to four games ahead of the Boston Celtics in the East’s second seed, 6.5 up on Miami.
As expected in a game coached by Nick Nurse and Erik Spoelstra, there were all sorts of interesting subplots going on in this one. Overall, Toronto’s schemes and execution did an excellent job slowing down Miami’s starting lineup. Holding Adebayo to 5-for-9 and Butler to 4-for-9 (26 points combined) can be taken as a win when you consider how those two rolled through Denver earlier in the weekend. The focus on those two left opportunities for others, though, namely when the Heat’s bench came into play.
Both Kelly Olynyk and Goran Dragic were ultimately the beneficiaries. Dragic in particular had a roll back the clock type performance, summoning all the scoring ability (and annoyances) that Raptors fans had to deal with back in 2016. His 25 points led Miami and he was a +15 in the ball game. Dragic did all the out-of-the-box-score stuff he’s known for too, including a trip of OG Anunoby in transition that was controversially held up as a common foul on review.
Olynyk, meanwhile, was this game’s “open man” against the Raptors defence, which usually schemes to choose which opponent they want to let chuck. Though the Canadian forward was ultimately a good choice — his 4-for-11 line from distance is something you can live with — he did make some timely shots for Miami, especially late in the game when they drove down a double-digit Raptors lead.
The Raptors were able to build that lead in the third quarter after a close first half. VanVleet scored 18 of his 36 in the period, as Toronto also got into a rhythm defensively and was able to get to the charity stripe. As their biggest lead of the game stretched to 17 at the 7:02 mark, Jimmy Butler was able to chip into things before the period buzzer — scoring four free throws and setting up a critical Olynyk three that brought Toronto’s lead down to seven. Both teams were letting it fly overall, as 32 of the Raptors’ 67 shots came behind the line; 45 of 87 for Miami.
In the fourth, early threes from Jae Crowder and Dragic tied the game and set up a tight finish. Kyle Lowry made his presence felt here, following up a dominant performance against the Lakers on Saturday, by controlling the tempo. His setup of Serge Ibaka for a dunk at the 6:11 mark was a critical basket, as it capped a 9-0 run for Toronto which saw them take the lead back from the Heat.
Raptors blog: VanVleet does it all; Lowry chasing greats; Powell finding way | Toronto Sun
Toronto has been nothing short of spectacular from the corners in the two games since the season restarted. After nailing just about every corner three-point attempt against the Lakers, the Raptors again caught fire and have hit 10-of-14 from the corners, a crisp 71.4% accuracy mark. Unfortunately for the Raptors they haven’t generated a lot of corner three-point attempts. They’re near the bottom for attempts from the left corner and middle of the pack in attempts from the right for this small sample size. If they can get back to their old selves (seventh in the NBA in corner three-point attempts this season) and still hit at anywhere near this clip, well, opponents would be in some trouble.
Norman Powell had to be frustrated with his 3-for-9 shooting line. While he looked a bit lost at times defensively (Powell falls asleep on that end a lot more often than his teammates, which is partly because most of his teammates are so good defensively), he’s a key offensive part of this team. They need him to attack when he comes off the bench and Powell made some great decisions and got to the rim at ease. The trouble was some of his old yips resurfaced as he struggled to finish. Powell’s had a great year and was finishing at a high rate, but his timing doesn’t quite seem to be back yet.
“He’s getting there, he’s getting point-blank on a few of them,” Nick Nurse said after the game.
“It’s kind of funny, there are a few things that feel like the first 10 games of the year, this is one of the things Norm was doing early in the year he was kinda not finishing at the rim. It’s just something we have to work through, we’re confident he can and can get back to where he was, I like the way he’s playing, I really do, he’s just not making those layups and he’s maybe not sticking enough three-balls that he does,” Nurse said, remaining confident in his first wing option off the bench.
“He’s good and we know he’s gonna come good and it’ll be a nice uptick for our offence when he does.”
It was nice to hear that Toronto’s front office has had a word with Terence Davis about his decision to wear a mask with a hole cut out for his nose.
NBA Power Rankings – Rockets top Bucks, West standings tighten – ESPN
4. Toronto Raptors
Record: 1-0 | 47-18 (.723)
Title odds: +1700
Previous ranking: 4The Raptors have told anyone who would listen — usually no one — that they believe they can defend their title. It seems safe to assume people will be listening after the Raptors’ emphatic victory over the Lakers in their first seeding game. Kyle Lowry was brilliant, the defense was suffocating and Toronto acted as if it were no big deal. That’s because to the Raptors, it wasn’t. This team isn’t afraid of anyone and believes it is as good as any team here. Toronto will be a very difficult team to beat four times in seven games. — Tim Bontemps
The Athletic’s NBA Power Rankings: Some teams need to restart again – The Athletic
1. Toronto Raptors (Previously 3rd), 47-18 (+6.5 net rating)
How does it look so far? The Raptors have only played one game, but their win over the Los Angeles Lakers was a lot of fun. It’s hard to tell how much of the Lakers’ offensive struggles were due to poor shooting or what the Raptors defense made them do. The Raptors have been elite defensively most of the season, but the Lakers have also struggled to make shots through their two games. It’s probably a bit of both. The biggest takeaway for the entirety of their one game is the lineup of Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Marc Gasol. This lineup dominated the Lakers in 16 minutes Saturday night. Fine-tuning with this unit will set them up for a deep playoff run.How does it look moving forward? The Raptors are a very good 3-point shooting team, and we saw that in the fourth quarter against the Lakers. In the one game, we just saw a lot of sloppiness with the ball and in trying to exploit some 3-point looks. It’s nothing to freak out about because it is the first game back for them. You should take far more positive takeaways than negative. But this is a team that was middle of the road when it came to taking care of the ball this season. They’ll have to clean that up even more once they get to the postseason. They have the opportunity to do that over the next seven games.
This week:1
Last week:3To those who don’t consider the defending champs a legitimate threat to repeat, they sent a loud warning shot with Saturday’s impressive win over the Lakers. Now fully healthy, the Raptors sent waves of skilled, tenacious bodies at LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with Kyle Lowry clearly the best player on the floor on Saturday. Toronto has a rough bubble schedule, but it got off to the best start possible by taking down the Lakers.
Power Rankings, Week 23: Raptors rise, Lakers hold top spot | NBA.com
This week:3
Last week:4
Toronto Raptors
Record: 47-18 (1-0)
Pace: 100.9 (14) OffRtg: 111.1 (12) DefRtg: 104.7 (2) NetRtg: +6.5 (4)We didn’t really need a reminder that the Raptors are really good, but they provided one just in case, handing the Lakers their least efficient offensive performance of the season (92 points on 103 possessions). The Bucks have the league’s No. 1 defense, but no team rotates like the champs, and that was on full display on Saturday as Anthony Davis got a season-low two shots in the paint, L.A. had more turnovers (18) than assists (17) for just the third time, and what had been a top-five offense before the hiatus scored a paltry 17 points on 36 possessions against Toronto’s reunited starting lineup.
Kyle Lowry (33 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and six assists on Saturday) is a big-game player and, though their place in the standings is rather secure, the Raptors have more big games coming. They’re just 1-6 in games against the other teams in the East’s top four, and they have seeding-game meetings with each of the other three. The first of those is Monday’s game against the Heat.
Why not Nick Nurse? (Hour 3) | CBS Sports Radio
Not Nick Nurse?
Raptors’ Nick Nurse finishes third in Coach of the Year voting among peers – Yahoo!
He’s shown a fearlessly innovative streak, reviving the popularity of various zone schemes that have fuelled the league’s second-ranked defence, while also inspiring copycats around the league. Nurse also oversaw continued development from players like Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, and OG Anunoby, who have all taken on bigger roles as part of a championship-level core.
The Raptors have also set franchise-records with their longest winning streak (15 games), and largest margin of victory (46 points). Nurse also coached Team Giannis in the All-Star Game, with Siakam and Kyle Lowry on his side, won the championship as a rookie coach last year, and holds the highest win percentage of any coach in NBA history.
Nurse, however, was gracious upon hearing the news, showing deference and respect to the co-winners.
“Those guys obviously did a great job. You can’t argue with the Bucks’ record and how great OKC did after everybody had lower expectations for them, so those guys are very deserving,” Nurse said.
Raptors’ Nick Nurse focused on winning games, not awards – Sportsnet.ca
Nurse, it was reported, came one vote shy of making it a three-way tie for the award.
“Those guys obviously did a great job,” Nurse said of Budenholzer and Donovan winning. “You can’t argue with the Bucks’ record and how great OKC did after everybody had lower expectations for them. So those guys are very deserving.”
A gracious answer and not an inaccurate one. The Bucks boast the best record in the NBA for the second season straight and everyone did write off the Thunder after they lost Russell Westbrook and Paul George, making them one of the NBA’s best surprise stories.
However, the Raptors were also a team that were written off and given the fact they lack a top-five player like Giannis Antetokounmpo, it still feels like the job Nurse did was more impressive.
Never mind, though, because Nurse and the Raptors are pretty used to this lack of recognition.
“I’m gonna be honest. We don’t really care. Truly, we really don’t care,” Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said of Toronto constantly flying under the radar. “We did it all last year and we got a lot of attention when we got Kawhi, and then we got talked down for the whole year and then when you win you get all the credit you could ever ask for, and more.”
And winning is what all the Raptors seem to do, with a large part of that owed to Nurse at the helm.
Was Nick Nurse snubbed for NBCA Coach of the Year award? [Video] – Yahoo!
Mike Budenholzer and Billy Donovan were named co-winners of the NBCA Coach of the Year as voted by their peers. Yahoo Sports Canada’s William Lou and Amit Mann discuss why he deserved better.
A hole in one Raptor’s mask is a reminder of how complicated NBA bubble life can be | The Star
With so much going on, the league has insisted that teams remind players and staff about the need to adhere to the rules in place. It resonated a bit more deeply in Toronto after Raptors rookie Terence Davis was photographed wandering around the league’s campus with a mask that had a hole in it, hardly the kind of preventative practice necessary.
“Like anything, people forget once in a while,” Nurse said. “I don’t think it’s being done with any malicious intent. It’s just people moving around quickly.”
For Davis, it wasn’t moving around quickly. It was wearing a mask with a hole cut into it, a blatant disregard for rules. The rookie was made aware of the inappropriateness of his decision.
“Leadership is taking care of it,” Nurse said, referring to team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster, both in the NBA bubble.
The entire Disney existence is taking some getting used to, and the unprecedented nature of the life isn’t easy.
It’s like one big basketball convention with significant amounts at stake, new rules to follow and protocols to maintain, and the changes run the gamut — from what you have to wear and where you can and cannot go, to what you can do when you get there.
“Everyone’s doing a great job of following the rules, doing all the things that we need to do: the protocols, the testing, the questionnaire, filling out forms, the social distancing, wearing a mask,” point guard Kyle Lowry said. “And I think we’ve done a good job of continuing to be the leaders in charge of doing what we have to do to make this thing successful.”
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