“Sometimes When Those FaceTime Calls Come..”: Toronto Raptors’ Head Coach Reveals Further Issues With the NBA Bubble

Coaches are known to be hot-headed, and in a way, rightly so. They are assigned with the job to tame beasts and train them to victory. Consider the curious case of Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs coach who has 1272 NBA wins to his name. How many times have you seen him yelling “no fouls!” from the top of his voice? Many times indeed. The same goes true for Michigan State University Head Coach Tom Izzo. But, is Nick Nurse, the head coach of Toronto Raptors any different? 

The winner of the 2019 NBA Championship, Toronto Raptors are 46-18 this season. They’re only behind Milwaukee Bucks, but each of the upcoming eight games is extremely crucial for them. In these times of rising tension, Nick Nurse has spoken some soft words to comfort his players.

Nick Nurse has got Toronto Raptors covered, psychologically!

The NBA Bubble in Orlando has some valid strictness in place. Players will not get to see their family members physically for somewhere between two to three months. On the contrary, in the past few months, most players had close proximity to their family. This sudden detachment can take a toll over players, and Head Coach Nick knows it. 

The Toronto Raptors are the last team to make it to the Walt Disney World complex. Some travel restrictions held them back, and they used this time quite efficiently. In their own private-bubble, the team players are practicing for two weeks now. Coach Nick is very positive about the way his men have worked out under given these circumstances.

The coach also told ESPN this past week, “We’ve got a great setup, and I feel good, man.” Later, in a Raptors interview from Fort Myers, he said,

“I would say my planning is very lean or [fluid], to be honest with you.” He added, “And I don’t really know where we are at. I mean I can see individually. I think we look really good, but what will that translate to when we get back to calling plays and running defenses and doing some things? Where are we going to need to go from there?”

Nurse on the ‘family time’ of Toronto Raptors

Nick, 52, himself is a proud father of two little ones. His sons Leo, 3, and Rocky, 1, are too young to understand their father’s busy schedule. Hence, Nick understands what it takes to leave the family and stay totally locked in some foreign land far away.

He said, “For me, I would say that it starts with [a] conversation, when you’re bumping into Fred [VanVleet] or Kyle [Lowry], and you’re asking ’em how are the wife and kids, and what are they doing, and when was the last time you talked to them.” He further explains, “I think sometimes hooking up with schedules and kids, sometimes when those FaceTime calls come, you’ve gotta take ’em and drop everything you’re doing.”

Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and others have looked physically upbeat, and it looks positive that the Raptors will put on a great show. Nick is taking care of not just the physical and tactical side of the game, but also the psychological side of it. Recipe for a great coach.

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Is Nick Nurse your favorite coach? If yes, why? If not, then who is it? Let us know in the comments below.