RETURN OF RAPTORS’ INJURED STARS PRESENTS NEW SET OF PROBLEMS
Nurse has to keep bench players engaged while reducing their time on the court
Nick Nurse couldn’t remember the last time he had to put a healthy player on his inactive list.
He had to do that on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
The days of scrambling just to keep enough scoring on the floor while ensuring he didn’t overwork any one individual are over, for the time being.
Pascal Siakam and Norm Powell are two games into their return. Marc Gasol returned from a 12-game injured stint on Wednesday.
This weekend — either Friday at home against Washington or Saturday in Minnesota — Fred Vanvleet will make his return.
Not to jinx it, but the Raptors haven’t been this healthy since the start of that Nov. 8 game in New Orleans when Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka were both lost for most of a month.
Nurse now has all of them, with the exception of Dewan Hernandez, back at his disposal. And that brings with it another issue.
How do you keep guys like Rondae Hollis-jefferson, Chris Boucher and Terence Davis II engaged when they start playing the reduced minutes they’re likely to get with all those starters back healthy?
It’s no secret that all three of those players, after logging significant minutes over the past two-plus months, are no longer going to be seeing the same court time. It can’t happen.
But all of them, along with
Matt Thomas, who had his own health issues during that injured period of the Raptors’ season, almost definitely are going to be seeing less playing time now that the team is healthy.
Gasol, as only Gasol can, was almost apologetic coming back on Wednesday, knowing the very guys who kept the Raptors afloat in his absence are now being asked to step aside, or in this case, sit aside while the regulars resume their previous workload.
“It’s tough because some of the guys who have been contributing and being a big part of this for the past few weeks, they’re not going to get as many minutes, and as a teammate that’s hard to see. But they’re great players, and they showed their worth, and they showed they’re ready at any time, so big props to them,” Gasol said. “It’s also a testament to how deep we are as a team.”
Lost in their efforts to simply put a winning team on the floor every night during this prolonged injury spell was the opportunity to build some flexibility into the lineup.
Nurse doesn’t want to get to April and suddenly start throwing out lineups that give him the best shot against a particular opponent that he hasn’t at least tried out in advance.
He opened Wednesday night starting Kyle Lowry alongside four of his bigs in OG Anunoby, Siakam, Serge Ibaka and Gasol.
Ibaka, who began his NBA career in Oklahoma City and has fond memories of his time there, got the nod as much for his size as he did as a returning former player, according to Nurse.
But that big lineup is one that could see some huge minutes if the Raptors match up with Philadelphia in the post-season. In about 12 minutes together to start the game and the second half, that group was a collective plus-2.
Nurse, though, has other lineups he wants to take a look at, and he’ll be using the next 10 games or so to roll them out and see how they perform.
He also sees some slippage from a conditioning perspective in some of his players that requires more attention.
Nurse wasn’t naming names, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume he was talking about some of his returning players who have been unable to work out because of the injuries they incurred.
So yes, Nurse won’t have the concerns he’s had with limited options on his bench for the past couple of months, but he’ll have more than enough going on to stay busy.
They’re great players, and they showed their worth, and they showed they’re ready at any time, so big props to them. It’s also a testament to how deep we are as a team.