Learn more about Nick Nurse - Casey's offensive specialist?

[Double Helix]

While Raptors nation waits for some kind of trade rumor, Doug Smith recently wrote that Nick Nurse is likely to become one of the new Raptor assistants. In looking at his resume and comparing it with some of the other ex-players who've been rumored to also be joining him, it looks like Masai may have plans of Nick Nurse being more of an offensive coordinator for Casey.

I wanted to put together a thread on him since he's the most likely new coach to have the biggest impact on how this team functions next year.



SOME ADVANCED STAT TRENDS FROM HIS NBADL TEAMS
His Iowa teams were in the top 2 in pace and 3rd, 6th and 1st in ORTG.
His Rio Grand teams were also top 2 in pace and 4th and 1st in ORTG.

ARTICLES SUGGESTING HE'S NBA CALIBER
http://www.themonitor.com/sports/articl ... 0f31a.html

Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Nick Nurse wants one of those jobs.

“I do think I have gained a lot of experience in the D-League,” Nurse told me on Saturday afternoon. “I hope to find one head coach that wants to hear my ideas, and I think I’ve got a few ideas.”

There’s no question Nurse, who guided the Houston Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate to the league championship in April, deserves a call-up of his own.

Nurse wouldn’t address whether he has interviewed or is set to interview with any NBA teams. Several bloggers have linked him to being a candidate with an assistant’s spot with the Toronto Raptors. A couple of these bloggers also said Nurse was the coach of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League team, so credibility might be an issue.

Regardless, it’s clear that Nurse should be in more than a few conversations regarding NBA assistant jobs.

It’s easy to see why if you look at his body of work in six years as a coach in the D-League. Nurse left the Energy in 2011 after defeating the Vipers in the D-League championship series to replace Chris Finch, who was promoted from the RGV to the Rockets to become an assistant. During his time in the D-League, Nurse led to two teams (the Iowa Energy and Vipers) to league championships. He’d had 23 players called up to the NBA during his six seasons. Thirteen Vipers landed on NBA rosters this season alone.

It’s clear he can coach NBA-caliber talent. Two of his D-League teams have led the league in scoring twice, including the 2012-13 championship Vipers.

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2013/5/ ... Candidates

Following two campaigns as head coach for Houston's NBA D-League affiliate the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Chris Finch spent this past season as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets, and recently became a candidate for the Sixers' head coach position. It seems that Finch is climbing the proverbial NBA coaching ladder, and current Vipers head coach Nick Nurse may be looking to follow in his footsteps.

After winning the NBA D-League title this last season with RGV, Nurse has been mentioned as a candidate for the assistant coach position in Toronto. Nurse has won NBADL titles with two different teams (Iowa Energy, Rio Grande Valley Vipers), in fact, Nurse defeated Finch for his first NBADL championship when his Energy squad toppled Finch's Vipers in 2011.

Nurse has a tremendous coaching pedigree including a gig with Finch as coaches for the British National Team, and earning credibility as a premiere developer of talent from his success in the NBADL. Nurse led Rio Grande Valley this past season to a 35-15 regular season mark, followed by an unblemished record in the postseason en route to the NBADL title. Now it seems Nurse has positioned himself nicely for a "Call-Up" to the NBA.

VIDEO INTERVIEWS OF NURSE
(Talking about his job)
http://www.cyclones.com/mediaPortal/pla ... M_ID=10700

(Talking with Draftexpress)
http://youtu.be/2ZE9yNqjyEk

(Talking about the NBADL Finals)
http://www.nba.com/dleague/video/2013/0 ... index.html

AUDIO INTERVIEWS OF NURSE
(Talking about specific adjustsments, and mimicking various coaching styles to help develop future NBA players for those coaches)
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2009/ ... coach-nick

[pbj]

Re-assuring though it's all contingent on how much influence he'll have on the team - Casey sure needs the help on offense but will he accept it?

Also seems like a good candidate for the interm position if Casey is canned half-way through the year.

[StMikes31]

Anything is better than Casey running the offense.

[Double Helix]

Re-assuring though it's all contingent on how much influence he'll have on the team - Casey sure needs the help on offense but will he accept it?

Also seems like a good candidate for the interm position if Casey is canned half-way through the year.

I agree. In an era where video coordinators have been promoted it was only a matter of time before some other team came calling for this guy's skills as an offensive-minded coach. Seems like a good fit next to Casey actually.

[Double Helix]

Another interview with some interesting comments on how Houston used their NBADL team as an experimental way to test out new team concepts.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/coach_n ... 10919.html

[niQ]

Looks like we will have some offense.

[hankscorpioLA]

I like the idea of adding someone else with some head coaching experience - and someone who clearly knows how to get the most out of lesser talents.

[vini_vidi_vici]

DH thanks for this, I didnt really know much about the hire, great thread thanks for all the links/etc..

[ballercb4]

He may actually end up replacing Casey after next season you never know ..."maybe they are easing him into his role"

[Vorticity]

thanks for sharing

[Double Helix]

His philosophy is that if you can rebound the ball and handle it in the open court you can get out and go. That explains why his teams have been top 2 in pace for 6 years in a row.

Houston worked closely with Rio Grand Rapids from the sounds of it and Nurse tried to coach the same 4 and out style that the Rockets run in the NBA. It's hard to tell if that's his preferred style or just what he wanted to run/was told to run to better prep these guys for Houston basketball. It's safe to say he's not strict on traditional positions like most 4 and out coaches aren't (Playing Parsons as a stretch 4 for example to increase spacing and versatility). That system is all about creating passing lanes near the ball, and keeping the defence honest away from the ball with a lot of movement. I suspect we'll see more corner 3s again as we used to under Triano-ball. Especially when Jonas goes to work on either block.

His teams have been consistent ORTG leaders (despite lots of roster turnover and NBA call-ups) so he's clearly good at putting his stamp on a team which is obviously why he's getting this opportunity.

Some questions I'm now wondering:

- Was he just coaching the way McHale wanted him to to prep for McHale's preferred style? His best friend (Chris Finch -- Hilarious since that's also David Brent's best friend, I believe) also coached under McHale.

- Are the Raptors thinking about utilizing Rudy Gay the same way Houston utilized Chandler Parsons as an occasional stretch 4? Is that why he bulked up?

- Is this also why Quincy Acy has been working so hard on his jump shot and perimeter defence? Do they see him primarily as a stretch 4 that can also attack the glass?

- If Masai is interested in seeing Rudy Gay play that kind of role then who does he see as the team's primary ball handler? Lowry? Derozan? An unknown trade target?

- If we were to truly emulate Houston's offensive approach would that decrease the chances of us targeting some of the big name PFs that some Raptors fans have thrown around? Does it put more of an emphasis on Maasi trying to land an Andre Iguodala or Tyreke Evans type of talent who can attack and pass?

- Will Nurse help us make better use of the NBADL? He knows what works best and what doesn't and will be able to work with coaches down there. Will he push Tim Leiweke to secure a full-time devoted affiliate?

Here's more on Houston's offence:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nb ... n/1949915/

Here's a quote where Nurse discusses the same:

“We kind of run a system where if you can handle it in the open floor and grab it off the glass you can bring it. We run a four out system, so you have to find the opening and which spot isn’t filled. It doesn’t matter if you’re a corner, wing or trail man. So he can fit in with that, we want to keep the ball in his hands. He delivers a lot of passes. The best way to do that is for him to rebound and bring it. I think that will showcase his talents the best.”

[carl_english]

This team definitely needs an injection of offensatol from the nurse himself.

[Double Helix]

Thanks for the kind words and And1s.It was a slow Raps news day and I have a feeling that Casey is going to let Nurse have a big role in the offence so that he can focus on D, so I figured it might be worth sharing some of this and discussing his style and what it might mean for us and Masai's vision.

[Al_Oliver]

While Raptors nation waits for some kind of trade rumor, Doug Smith recently wrote that Nick Nurse is likely to become one of the new Raptor assistants. In looking at his resume and comparing it with some of the other ex-players who've been rumored to also be joining him, it looks like Masai may have plans of Nick Nurse being more of an offensive coordinator for Casey.

I was thinking we need a doctor, but a Nurse will do...

[Spacing]

Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Nick Nurse wants one of those jobs.

“I do think I have gained a lot of experience in the D-League,” Nurse told me on Saturday afternoon. “I hope to find one head coach that wants to hear my ideas, and I think I’ve got a few ideas.”

There’s no question Nurse, who guided the Houston Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate to the league championship in April, deserves a call-up of his own.

Nurse wouldn’t address whether he has interviewed or is set to interview with any NBA teams. Several bloggers have linked him to being a candidate with an assistant’s spot with the Toronto Raptors. A couple of these bloggers also said Nurse was the coach of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League team, so credibility might be an issue.

Regardless, it’s clear that Nurse should be in more than a few conversations regarding NBA assistant jobs.

It’s easy to see why if you look at his body of work in six years as a coach in the D-League. Nurse left the Energy in 2011 after defeating the Vipers in the D-League championship series to replace Chris Finch, who was promoted from the RGV to the Rockets to become an assistant. During his time in the D-League, Nurse led to two teams (the Iowa Energy and Vipers) to league championships. He’d had 23 players called up to the NBA during his six seasons. Thirteen Vipers landed on NBA rosters this season alone.

It’s clear he can coach NBA-caliber talent. Two of his D-League teams have led the league in scoring twice, including the 2012-13 championship Vipers.

A nice little gem in the article too...

[MikeM]

Sounds like Nick Nurse could use...

Andrea Bargnani!

[mwaschkowski]

re:credability
Uh, he was talking about the bloggers because he was coaching the Rio Grande Valley Vipers

[Alfred]

This team definitely needs an injection of offensatol from the nurse himself.

It would be pretty funny if he became Doc Rivers' assistant.

[Clutch Carter]

Huh, I thought Alan Anderson was our offensive specialist.

But seriously thanks for all the discussions you start DH, much appreciated in the long off season.

[rapluva]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33XhREPVCs[/youtube]

around the 1:30 mark, Nick Nurse is announced as the Head Coach of the Vipers... and he talks a lot about development..