Nick Nurse blaming Raptors players after Grizzlies loss is a horrible look

Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors never even entertained the thought of playing a competitive game against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, as they had to change their starting lineup after four minutes on the floor and trailed by more than 20 points at home in the third quarter.

Nurse has been willing to chew out his players at times this season, accusing Gary Trent Jr. of some poor defensive efforts and calling out Chris Boucher for general ineffective play. Nurse then turned his ire towards the roster as a whole, who was blown out again in a listless fashion.

Nurse called the transition defense “as bad as it could get” before accusing the team of lacking an identity and playing “disjointed” basketball. Nurse, in danger of compiling his second losing season as a head coach, also said that his team will “hopefully” execute his vision as the calendar flips to 2023.

This quote can seem a bit problematic, as it sounds like too much (if not all) of the blame is being put squarely on the shoulders of the players for being unable to execute his apparently utopian vision of basketball. Nurse himself hasn’t been at his best in the last few weeks.

Nick Nurse needs to take the blame for the Toronto Raptors record.

Nurse varies wildly between two extremes, as there are certain parts of his strategy that he tinkers with too much and some areas that he refuses to touch no matter what. Toronto used their 18th starting lineup combination against Memphis, and that five-man lineup had not logged any minutes together before that game.

Nurse’s system of basketball requires players to go 100% every minute they are on the floor, but the lack of bench depth has led to multiple Raptors players ranking among the league leaders in minutes per game once again. This is a tiring style that Nurse is forcing upon his squad, and the team is running on fumes.

While the Raptors’ inconsistent nightly effort has been a talking point for the last few weeks, isn’t that a reflection on the head coach, even if tangentially? The fact Nurse is unwilling to bend his system, even in a very minor fashion, has to be frustrating for this team.

Nurse needs to do some serious self-reflection in the next few days, as his poor performance on the sideline is one of the reasons the Raptors are where they’re at in the standings. Calling out players could work occasionally, but this seems like a deflection attempt.