Toronto Raptors: Perseverance through injuries in December

What did we learn?

This isn’t something that wasn’t necessarily learned during the month of December, but it is something that has been shown again that deserves some recognition. Nick Nurse is a great coach when it comes to figuring out rotations and lineups that work best with his personnel.

Nurse has been forced to go deeper into his lineup because of injuries that have mounted for Toronto. He has been able to use the right players in the right moments in a game which has helped the Raptors survive the ailments their players are dealing with.

He’s recognized that being without some of their top offensive options for the foreseeable future, the younger players that are getting more minutes need to be more involved in the offensive gameplan.

Despite him being a defensive-minded coach, he understands the lack of offense his team has and is doing his best getting more production from players who aren’t really known for their offensive game. This is a nod to his ability to get the most out of his players and challenging them to do more given the situation.

The Raptors head coach has also shown that he isn’t afraid to throw specific matchups at certain players or at certain times of the game. He threw two men at James Harden as soon as he crossed halfcourt when they faced the Houston Rockets earlier in the month. In their epic comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks, Nurse implemented a full-court press defense which was an important part of their efforts to come from behind and escape victorious. Nurse has also used zone defenses which have proven to be effective in certain moments.

In his second year as the head coach, Nick Nurse has become an expert at managing minutes, rotations, and lineups. This is something that shouldn’t be understated or undervalued, as his ability to create effective lineups even when his team is not fully healthy is something that has the Toronto Raptors in a good place at this point in the season. Yes, it is the players who actually put the ball in the bucket, but Nurse should get credit for not only putting his players in the right positions but for having his players’ trust.

Nurse has had to deal with load management last season, and he handled that excellently and the result was a championship. This year, he has had to endure injuries to important players on his team which has resulted in him having to experiment with different lineups and make many adjustments in his rotations. He has again shown how he can put together a lineup with a limited roster while still being competitive in every game.

It would be fair to say that the Toronto Raptors might not be in the same position if anyone but Nick Nurse was the coach of the team. He has weathered the flurry of injuries that have kept some of his best players out and has allowed some of the younger players to show their potential with an increased role on the team. Nurse should be an early favorite for Coach of the Year, largely because of how the Raptors have stayed afloat despite the plethora of injuries they have faced.