Toronto Raptors: 3 goals for Nick Nurse ahead of 2021-22 season

The Toronto Raptors have one of the absolute best head coaches in the sport in Nick Nurse, as the replacement for Dwane Casey led the franchise to their first-ever NBA championship in his debut season at the help while helping them take home 53 victories and the East’s No. 2 seed in his second campaign.

The Raptors were set up to fail when they had to play an entire season in Tampa, and they proceeded to do just that when they earned just the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs. Nurse was given a challenge that few if any coaches could really make work.

While the Raptors have a new burst of energy due to both their return to Toronto and the retooling of their roster, they have plenty of questions to answer with regards to what a typical gameday will look like, and it is up to Nurse to figure out how to address those issues.

Nurse should set these three goals for himself. If he manages to achieve these three targets in a somewhat timely manner, this should have a very positive impact on the Raptors’ win-loss record in what will be a pivotal season.

3 goals for Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse in 2021-22

3. Solve the rebounding issue

The Raptors are building a positionless team that features a handful of 6-8 and 6-9 players that can line up at several different positions, but Khem Birch is the closest thing that the team has to a traditional low-post big man. For a team that was pitiful on the glass last year, that could be a major Achilles heel.

Improving their performance on the glass last year will be a collaborative effort, as Birch will need to provide the same consistency he showed off last year, Precious Achiuwa must start to show signs of the star he can be, and forwards like Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher must pull their weight.

Nick Nurse must help Birch and the Raptors improve on the glass.

The rebounding will be better this year, as the addition of Achiuwa and the return of Birch is a much better offseason windfall than Aron Baynes and Alex Len last season. How much better? Well, that remains to be seen, as going up against bigs like Joel Embiid and Julius Randle will be a very tough task.

What made Nurse great during the title run was his ability to diagnose problems on the fly and make adjustments. While he didn’t have the roster to make a change last year, Masai Ujiri responded by bringing back a starting center, adding a high-level backup, and drafting a 6-7 No. 4 overall pick with an endless wingspan in Scottie Barnes.

2. Balance the minutes in the rotation

The fact that the Raptors’ bench in 2020-21 both couldn’t stay healthy and suffered from inconsistency stretched the starters to breaking point. Not only did this wear down the better players on the roster by the end of the season, but it prevented Toronto from allowing their reserves to get into a groove.

In addition to the continued development of bigs like Achiuwa and Boucher, Malachi Flynn needs to get on the floor to expand his offense toolbox. Scottie Barnes won’t develop by wasting on the bench, and Goran Dragic still can score at a very high level in this league. How will Nurse juggle all of this?

Can Nick Nurse get all of these Raptors on the floor?

Striking the right balance will be key. The starting lineup features microwave scorers like Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet that need to get hot and into the zone, while the bench is full of raw players who would improve more against live rounds on the floor rather than sitting on a fold-out chair on the sideline.

As much as the Raptors need to be concerned about how their young players perform, they need to make sure that Siakam, VanVleet, and OG Anunoby are put in positions to help this team win games and compete for a playoff spot. Getting the mixture is a tall order, but Nurse should be able to carve out a system that works for everyone.

1. Improve the jump shots of several Raptors players

Ujiri put this roster together with the idea that Nurse, one of the best teachers of offensive skills in the game, would be able to turn questionable shooters into positives in that particular area. That fantasy is a big part of why they believe they can help Barnes blossom on offense.

Birch started to shoot more 3-pointers in Toronto than he did in Orlando, and Nurse is also expected to give Achiuwa the same treatment with the intent of making him a more deadly offensive player outside of the paint. Even depth signings and late-round draft picks like Isaac Bonga and Dalano Banton fit that same archetype.

Nick Nurse must get the Raptors shooting efficiently.

While the likes of Siakam, Anunoby, and Trent will make the Raptors’ starting lineup a formidable offensive group, it’s fair to be just a bit worried about their potential when it comes to beating teams in a shootout. Can a lineup so many iffy shooters suddenly find the Midas touch this season?

Building a team based on strength and length is a noble goal, but it might be hard to fully implement if Toronto fails to shoot the 3-ball at an exceptionally efficient clip. Putting trust in Nurse over someone like Casey worked out well in 2018-19, and it could work well this year.