Toronto Raptors defence continues to be biggest improvement under Nurse
The Toronto Raptors continue to ride a hot start to the season and a big contributor has been the team’s commitment to Nick Nurse’s defensive system.
When the Toronto Raptors hired Dwane Casey to be their head coach, his reputation for his defensive approach was supposed to take the team to the next level.
It was the main factor in the Dallas Mavericks victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals and the Raptors were hoping he could help elevate the team past top calibre players. As we know, that didn’t happen the way the organization expected leading to Casey’s dismissal.
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With Nick Nurse being hired and Masai Ujiri making many changes including the trades for Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Marc Gasol and it led to an NBA title. While everyone remembers the buzzer-beater in Game 7 and some big offensive performances during the championship run, you can say the defence got overlooked.
Through 18 games this season, the Raptors have bought into Nurse’s defensive system and it continues to be an underrated aspect of their game. It is something that shouldn’t be ignored that much especially the past few games where they have held some star players in check.
The Raptors are tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best defensive rating in the NBA at 102.1 and were allowing teams to shoot just 41.1 per cent from the field. This is a big change from what we’ve come to see from the Raptors as Nurse admitted that it took some time to come together.
"“We started having two-a-days where we had a practice and then all of the new guys had to practice again, and it was mostly on defence and they weren’t very happy about it for the first couple days,” said Nurse on Sportsnet 590 the Fan. “But then they kinda took it on board and started doing it and learning our schemes a little better and playing a little harder and I think it’s paying off for them. So they’ve had buy-in and it’s helping them, it’s helping their own individual success.”"
Players like Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby already had reputations as strong defensive players but seeing a player like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson buy-in to being a better defensive player shows how much respect Nurse has with his players.
With Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka expected to return on Sunday against the Utah Jazz, it will only help to have some depth behind them that can be relied upon to play responsibly defensively.
It’s not something that should be overlooked and Nurse deserves a lot of credit for how it has come together.
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What do you think about the Raptors defensive play so far this season? Can they keep it going? Let us know in the comments below.