Raptors coach taking charge in Vegas
Usually NBA TORONTO Summer League in Las Vegas is a time for assistant coaches to hone their craft helming a squad.
That won’t be the case for Toronto’s entry, since Nick Nurse wanted to get used to being the main man again after taking over for the fired Dwane Casey.
“I want to get to work, I want to get our guys going, get used to hearing my voice, but mostly I just want to get started,” Nurse said in Las Vegas on Thursday. Nurse, who was a head coach in England and in the then-NBA Development League before joining the Raptors, said the team has prided itself on how hard it has played in recent years and that will not change. “You can’t argue with how hard we’ve played in the past. Keep that up, moving the ball,” Nurse said.
He is hoping his charges get a bit more pushy and disruptive on defence. “We’re going to try to create a few more turnovers defensively instead of kind of play the bend but don’t break defensive (style). We will get more aggressive, be more handsy, and hopefully the ball is getting up the floor quicker (at the other end as a result),” Nurse said. The Summer League team will be led by sophomore OG Anunoby, who came back from a severe knee injury suffered while playing for the Indiana Hoosiers to emerge as a key starter.
“He’s had a great off-season, you can tell,” Nurse said. “His skills are already improving. You would think he should be the best player on the floor — well, he looks like the best player on the floor. He’s exerting his presence (at both ends).” Anunoby provided a brief assessment of the start of the Nurse era.
“I like him a lot. He’s a great guy. I’m excited,” Anunoby said while not looking all that excited. Many younger players have gathered in Vegas to work with the staff, even if they aren’t a part of the Summer League roster. That group includes forward Pascal Siakam and point guard Delon Wright, who also weighed in on the change. “It’s different. I know a lot of people think it’s not a change (going from Casey to his longtime assistant), but I think it’s a change,” Siakam said. “He’s his own man and he does things his way.” Wright described the move as a fresh start. “Coach Casey had a different style of coaching, but I think they’re both effective. It just depends on how you take the message,” Wright said.