Nick Nurse’s offensive and defensive schemes
If you watched any of Nick Nurse’s opening press conference, you likely heard him mention his desire to “experiment” and “try different approaches” approximately 5-50 times. What better place to try something new than in Las Vegas Summer League.
Nurse will be coaching the team himself, something not done by all NBA coaches (but most freshly hired ones), and for the first time we will get the chance at a glimpse of what Toronto might do differently this season.
During his press conference, Nurse specifically mentioned his desire to modernize the team on defense. Will Toronto switch more this summer? Will they hedge-hard and bring a third defender? While there might be an expectation of changes we expect to see under Nurse, watching the team in Summer League will help bring clarity to what is still a somewhat blurry photo.
Offensively, Nurse is also expected to bring changes to modernize the Raptors as well. It has been widely assumed that the Raptors’ offense will look similar to the teams Nurse coached at the G-League, but a lot has changed since that time and the style he played in 2013 is the norm, rather than innovative. During the Summer League we will have an idea if Nurse evolved along with the league or if he will play a more traditional style.