[ad_1]
LAS VEGAS – When Nick Nurse replaced Dwane Casey as head coach of the Raptors, there was a lot of mischief about the change that could really result from the move.
After all, Nurse was Casey's longtime badistant. on how things were done, especially on the attack.
Well, as Public Enemy said, do not believe the hype. Change happens and it will happen in different ways.
To be more aggressive and physically defensive, take the step offensively (partly because of the creation of turnarounds), to find patterns that do not leave great men. On an island or guards defending the bottom, to an increased responsibility on the defense, Nurse has many ideas
The league has become smaller, but it remains only two of the four best players in Toronto, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, only stand six feet tall (if that), which will present some challenges defensively.
"I think I'm having something shattering in my head," Nurse told Postmedia in a large 1-in-1 interview after Toronto beat Denver 85-77 late Wednesday night in Vegas.
"Kyle is going to be on the ground, Fred is going to be on the ground a lot, so we have to be able to find something defensive, where we protect not just them but our big ones, so we do not end up falling and just after two (opposing screens or moves) Kyle and Fred are inside and Jonas (Valanciunas) and Serge (Ibaka) are out, "Nurse said. I have to find something (to avoid that) and I have ideas and ideas on it and I'll have to polish it, experiment a bit and try to do some things maybe "
Nurse n & # 39 has made no secret to do media rounds that part of this includes defender DeMar DeRozan of All-NBA's third team, by most metrics one of the league's worst defenders, to The nurse says DeRozan is totally in agreement with the idea and that he is really keen to continue to prove to critics what he tends to do to every season.
"I would not comment if I thought he was far away from him," said Nurse. "We sat down, he is on the edge of his seat saying," That's it. do you have for me. "I was like," Well "… and I start to and he ends my sentence:" I know, I'm better than "
From there, Nurse gave a plan to DeRozan and added, "I do not expect you to be Bruce Bowen (by) the first game, but by the time the playoffs occur, We must have you because & # 39; There is no place where we can hide, Nurse said.
"And he is completely down, he physically has the ability, he knows what he's doing. We need to make a long-term plan and plan and stick to it a little bit.
Another issue that the team has faced in the past and that it will still have to handle is that of duplication. Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl are only centers and Ibaka's regression, particularly in terms of mobility, makes him a better option as a center than power in most cases. The fast improvement of Pascal Siakam and his push of a few minutes are also taken into account here, as is the offensive advantage of OG Anunoby as a forward power when he plays little striker. The nurse sees Anunoby defending the guards and the two forward positions so where he sneaks defensively is not a problem. But at the attack, Anunoby should be able to outpace the bigger and slower power forward. Nurse says that he always thinks about these issues but acknowledges that Anunoby, like most players nowadays, wants to play a downward stance in attack if given any opportunity, not at the top (not forward, not forward)
? "He'll have to play both (center and forward, even if it's not ideal)," said Nurse. "I think he's going to be a spacing (power forward), but spacing guys, four, five, Anyway, this corner has been repeating all summer that while laying Casey and giving Nurse, the reins were reasonable decisions of Masai Ujiri, which made it the only big shots of the off season. (and symbolically throw all the blame for the series failures at the feet of Casey) is simply not enough. Even with Nurse ready to mix things up significantly and even with LeBron James defection to the West.
Nothing has changed. Ujiri and Bobby Webster can and should do more.
And s & They do not, all Nurse's maneuvers have a better job.
ANUNOBY COMES CLOSER TO 100% EXPLOSIVITY
LAS VEGAS – OG Anunoby was a revelation for the Raptors as a rookie despite the fact that he was not suffering from the return of & # 39; a torn ACL while he was playing for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Originally scheduled for the end of November or December, Anunoby was rather in the lineup for the pre-season and played for 74 games, starting 62 of them. He emerged as the best defender of the team and also shot 37% on three points. By the time the playoffs were over, Anunoby seemed more explosive.
Here in Vegas, he was even more bouncy, swinging rims and removing dribbling opponents. He scored 19 points (four hits at three points) and blocked two shots in a loss to Oklahoma City, then 22 points and another block against Denver on Wednesday night.
Asked by Postmedia when he will be all the way back how he will know, Anunoby said that this time is not far off.
"Yeah, (his explosiveness) comes back in. I think I'll wake up one day and it'll be 100. I think I'm 100 years old now but I'm sure I can do more," says Anunoby.
Source link
