Winning formula uncorked
Coach Nurse’s mixing of team’s starting five has kept foes guessing Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka have formed a two-headed monster at centre for the Raptors.
The willingness of Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse to deviate from accepted NBA practice and mix and match his team’s starting lineup depending on what he sees as advantageous matchups is being noticed around the league.
And the coach and his players are being lauded for accepting it so well.
“I tell you, it does say something about your team when you can do that, and it’s a positive statement,” Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers said this week.
“If you have a group of guys, eight or nine even, that are willing to do that and there’s no problems with it, it tells you that your team is together.”
Nurse has been fluctuating among four players for two spots in the starting five in each Raptors game, depending on the opponent and the problems they might present.
Kyle Lowry, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard always start — unless Leonard is resting or hurt — but no one knows which way Nurse might go with the other two from one game to the next.
Some nights it’s Jonas Valanciunas at centre, some nights it’s Serge Ibaka.
Pascal Siakam has been a steady presence at the other frontcourt spot, but Nurse said last week he can see OG Anunoby getting back into the starting lineup at some time this season, when he’s fully back up to game speed.
It runs counter to tradition, but Nurse has been able to convince everyone involved that it’s the best way to go.
“I wouldn’t call it hard but it isn’t easy, either. They’ve been really unselfish and good about it. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t had a lot of meetings in my office with certain guys,” Nurse said.
The idea came to Nurse in the off-season after he got the job, and he’s not deviated from it since. He knows some players prefer to start — there are some who like the ego boost of getting that first introductory cheer, others use starting as a way to ease into games rather than having to hit the ground running full tilt off the bench.
But there’s no arguing with success, which the players see as well as fans.
“I’ve said it for months now, or weeks at least: (Players feel), ‘Hey, I want to start. I want to run out there in front of 20,000 people and have my name announced.’ I get it. I get it.” Nurse said.
“But so far they’ve been pretty unselfish (about) us trying to be more versatile. We’ve got maybe eight starters — giving them all a chance to start once in a while.”
The buy-in from the Raptors has been impressive. Valanciunas is playing less but producing more, and Ibaka’s off to as good a start to a season as he has ever had. Toronto’s two-headed centre monster eats other teams.
Siakam has been the team’s engine, but Anunoby’s multifaceted defensive skills are vital, and when his three-point shot comes around he’s going to have to play.
Being able to move Anunoby into Leonard’s spot when Leonard is out, and having Siakam able to play centre in some wildly diverse defensive lineup, is a godsend to Nurse.
“We’re trying to create a versatile, versatile team so we can compete against the other really versatile teams in this league,” the coach said. “We’re still a work in progress, but that’s what we’re shooting for.”
And no one can complain with the team off to its best start in franchise history.
“It is a solid statement when you see Toronto do it, no one’s complaining,” Rivers said. “I think that’s a great testimony to the spirit and the chemistry of their basketball team. So I do think there’s a lot of positive to that as well.”