Michael: I actually have
a non-Raptor's related question.
I'm just wondering
if you saw Jamal Murray's game
last night
and maybe a happy question.
Like, what would you thought
of it and--
and how it – how it struck you?
Nick Nurse: Yeah, I mean,
I've seen -- I've seen this,
I've seen just about
all of his games here
and I've seen quite a bit of
him as well.
He's really on one man.
He's -- he's really on a--
a huge tear and--
I don't know, more than--
more than the scoring
and everything, I just love
the competitiveness,
Michael, I think-- I think
from watching him play, man,
and he's really trying to do
everything
he can to help his team win.
And he just so happens
to be on a--
on a scoring barrage of unlike,
you know,
I don't see too many like this.
So, pretty cool to watch,
that's for sure.
Heck of a player, man,
heck of a competitor.
Michael: And just to follow up,
I mean, in a perfect world,
you'd-- you'd have
your second NBA ring
and you'd probably have
a medal from Tokyo.
Things have been interrupted,
but-- but if you allowed
yourself to think of--
of what --
what might have been
this summer
and what a guy like Jamal
could or will mean when--
when the opportunity arises.
Nick Nurse: Well, what I--
what I--
what I think about,
Michael, is this.
I pray every day that
they'll be a Tokyo someday.
You know what I'm saying?
I mean, I think, for everybody
around the world,
that means that--
that things are--
are moving again and--
and It's – it’s hard to--
it's hard to dream about being
on the medal-- medal podium.
It's hard to be about--
when you know,
if you're going to get a gold,
right?
I'm just-- that's what I'm--
that's what I'm saying.
Let's-- let's-- let’s all keep
trying to pray
or positive thoughts that--
that those games
will take place at some point.
Michael: I appreciate it, Nick.
Thank you.
Nick Nurse: Thank you, Michael.
Man: Next is Doug Smit
from the Toronto Star.
Doug Smith: How are you Nick?
How you doing?
Nick Nurse: I'm fantastic, Doug.
How are you?
Doug Smith:
I'm glad to hear it.
I don't think fantastic
is quite good,
but that's all right.
When you’re looking back
at the film of yesterday,
do you need to change
what you do
or do what you do better?
Nick Nurse:
Well, I think there's--
there's well, yeah,
there's got--
there's got to be
some adjustments,
obviously, Doug,
and some things
we did that we didn't do
very well for whatever reason,
but it's-- it's-- I--
we just didn't--
we didn't bring it, Doug.
We didn't bring it, man.
We weren't running hard.
We weren't running hard.
It's like we were playing
uphill both directions.
Right?
We weren't running hard back.
We weren't running hard forward.
We -- or cutting hard,
we weren't-- there was a--
there was a speed
and energy problem that’s--
that I think was--
it was a physical problem,
which I think was created
by our mental state,
which wasn't right.
Then you got to get
over all that
before you start looking
at the adjustments
and things like that, right?
I think-- I think, as you know,
we've talked about this
a hundred times, I mean,
you know about, you know,
you got a coverage
or you got a match up out there
and you think, well,
it isn't working.
Now was it not working
because we're not doing it well
enough or hard enough
or with enough pace, speed,
connectivity, trust,
communication,
anticipation, toughness,
you know.
Or do you need
to completely jump
and get out to another coverage?
Right, so there's-- there’s
kind of lots going on there.
And I think to answer
your question,
there's some of both.
Doug Smith: Great, thanks,
Nick, appreciate it.
Man: Next, we'll go to Steven
from Sportsnet.
Steven: Hey, Coach.
Thanks for doing this.
Just -- upon further review,
like what did you think of--
of that kind of big jumbled
lineup that--
that you went
with like last night?
Like, what kind of message
did you see out of it?
Nick Nurse: I mean,
it was okay, Steven.
Obviously, it-- they had a--
they had a nice run kind of
when the game was--
you know, with the--
everything was going wrong
and the game was getting away
from us early and-- and we went
to it and it kind of--
it brought us back with
a chance and without a couple--
without a couple really critical
mistakes to end the quarter,
we’d probably go
into the half down 8 or 10.
I think it was 10
and we had the ball
and we actually had
a really nice position
with the ball and ended up
turning it over for a layup
and then giving up
a three at the buzzer,
ended up going down 17.
So that group had
actually played pretty well
together to get us back
in the game,
so that -- that's a positive.
Yeah, that's all I can say.
They were positive --
pretty good,
so they were doing
okay at both ends, I guess.
Steven: And just--
just one more for me.
But I know you were asked
about this last night about
like Pascal's kind of
post touches, but like--
like, again, like you did
give it a night to kind of--
kind of look at all of their–
like what did you see there?
Like, are those the touches
that you wanted him to get,
like, just because he's close
to the basket
and the page for
more high percentage looks?
Nick Nurse: Well, I think,
Steven, they looked pretty good
to me for the most part.
You know, I thought--
I thought Smart--
Smart pulled him --  pulled him
into an offensive foul.
That was that was a bad call,
right?
So that was
one that wasn't very good.
He got clearance at about
two feet on
one that he missed the layup.
He got two and ones.
So those were pretty good.
And he got another bucket
over Smart.
So for the most part,
they looked okay, you know.
And I think that we're trying
to get him going a little bit.
So we were trying to get him
some touches and --
and that wasn't a bad way
to do it.
I think we need to do
a little bit more around it,
a little bit.
You know, I think
we need to cut a little bit more
and have a little better spacing
and relocation
and things like that,
possibly if we go into an area.
I don't know what you think
of them,
what you think
of all those post touches?
Steven: It looked like
a lot, it looked like a lot.
Thanks a lot, Coach.
Man: Next, we'll go to
Mike Ganter
from the Toronto Sun.
Mike Ganter: Hey, Nick.
Pretty general question for me.
Just wondering about, you know,
the mood in today's practice
after yesterday
and whether it was pretty
easy to get
their attention the day after.
Nick Nurse:
Yeah, I think so, Mike.
I think so, I mean,
the mood's not good, right?
We're not happy and we're --
we're a little pissed off
and we should be, I mean,
we're not proud of --
proud of anything
we did yesterday.
So the only-- the only--
you got to kind of
live through that, right?
You got to kind of
live through that
until you get another chance
to --
for the ball to go up
and try to -- try to ride it.
You know, you can -
you’re going to say, hey,
it’ll -- we'll play better,
it’ll be okay.
Well, we'll see.
We got to make it better,
we got to make it okay, yeah.
Mike Ganter: Thanks, Nick.
Nick Nurse: Welcome.
Man: We'll go to Josh
from TSN, next.
Josh Lewenberg: Hey, Nick.
Fred was just telling us
that he gets to see his family
today, I guess a bunch of
the players are going to get
to see their family today
or soon.
Seems like a pretty good time
for that given
what's going on
and what went on,
on the court yesterday,
what's going on off the court.
How much do you think that,
that will sort of help
boost guys spirits?
Nick Nurse: I mean, I hope,
but I'm happy for Josh,
and I hope it does.
Me predicting what's going to
happen is --
is little bit shaky these days.
You know what I mean?
One event leads to the next,
if anybody's predicting that
and like present times and--
then they’d make a lot of money.
So I don't know.
I'm glad.
I'm sure there's going to b
a lot of love and--
and joy for these guys
for the rest of their day to day
and part of tomorrow, which--
which they certainly--
which they certainly need.
And hopefully that'll --
that'll translate to the court.
That's-- that's--
and if it does, I don't know
if it matters or not, Josh,
it's kind of we got to go play.
We got to go play.
We got to play better
and play a lot harder.
Josh Lewenberg:
Neither team had--
had many transition
opportunities yesterday.
Obviously, that’s a big part of
your game,
getting out and running.
How-- how can you guys
control the pace a little bit
better against a team
that does such a good job
of getting back?
Nick Nurse: Well, I mean,
I think, Josh, you've got to
kind of understand that
playoff basketball changes
a little bit there just
for whatever reason.
I mean, other than the fact
that people run back better
in the playoffs and--
and with a little bit more
urgency or whatever.
You know, those cut down,
transition points do--
do cut down in the playoffs.
That being said, I think--
I think, again,
what do you do?
We've already talked about
this a couple of times.
You push it a little harder,
you run a little harder
at the corners, you throw it
ahead a little bit more.
But mostly it's about running
hard
with some speed, you know.
And once you get a stop
or a turnover, man,
you've got to try to change
gears
and you got to try to
put the heat on.
And you can only do
that usually in numbers.
You know, you need
some depth
and some width
both to your transition offense.
Josh Lewenberg: Thanks, Nick.
Nick Nurse: Welcome, Josh.
Man: Thanks, Josh.
Next, we'll go to
Greg Ross from CBC.
Greg, are you there?
Okay, we’ll go to
Chris Mannix,
who should be live there
with you.
Chris Mannix:
We're obviously in an era of
kind of position,
less basketball.
When you see guys like
Tatum and Brown to kind of
floor space
or when you kind of
have guys playing together
in the front court,
what kind of challenges
do they pose as--
as frontcourt mates there?
Nick Nurse: Well, I think the --
the biggest thing
is they can do
a little bit of everything.
Right?
And they can guard a little bit
of everything as well.
So they can --
they can shoot it.
They can drive it.
They can posture
if they get the right match ups.
You know, and I think
that's -- that's --
a lot of them are best players
in the league or kind of
in that big wing
athletic position that can–
that they can do
about every skill.
Chris Mannix: Have you seen
improvements
defensively from either
of them
this year as you watched?
Nick Nurse: Yeah, yeah.
I mean, I think they're--
I think
they’re two great players,
man, both of them.
I think they work at it.
I think they, again, they--
they-- I see them down guard
and they got some length.
They certainly got good feet
and then they compete.
I think that
those are the main things.
You got the athleticism
and the longitude to do it.
I think they both do.
Man:
We'll go back to Greg Ross.
Greg Ross: Okay.
-Can you guys hear me?
-Hello?
Man: All good.
Greg Ross: Okay.
Hey, Nick.
A little earlier on,
you said that the mood
at practice today
was guys were just pissed off.
I mean, is-- is that
what you want to see as a coach?
And is that, you know,
the thing that makes this team
special, the fact that
they're so business-like
when it comes to
what they do on the court?
Nick Nurse: Well.
Not sure
it's what I want to see,
but I'd much rather be
holding hands
and skipping rope
to get to a win.
You know what I mean?
But again,
this is where  we find ourselves
and-- and, well, maybe
I was the one
who was pissed off, Greg.
I don't know,
maybe I was reading it wrong,
but let's -- let's see.
I mean, again,
we're going to find out
our mood today, it isn't going
to affect tomorrow much,
it’s when the ball goes up
tomorrow
what we're going to be like.
We usually do bounce back,
right?
We’re a team
that’s bounced back a lot.
So hopefully our--
our historical reference will,
you know, matter tomorrow.
Greg Ross:
Well, real quick follow up.
You talk about a team
that can bounce back
and even in the playoffs
last year against Milwaukee,
I mean, down 2-0
and to come back.
I mean, last night was a tough
or yesterday was
a tough performance
for this team on the court.
Is it important, I guess,
for the mental fortitude
for this team to be able to
show that
they can bounce back
against a tough team
like Boston in a tough series?
Nick Nurse: Yeah, I mean,
we're kind of
in a situation now
the stakes are high,
Greg, right,
where if you don't bounce back,
you're -- you're going to be
in trouble, right?
We got to figure it out.
It is -- it is a first team
before you win some --
and there's --
there’s a ways to go
in the series, but we got
to -- we got to play better,
man, against these guys
and, you know, we got
to get in a better mindset,
more physically
and mentally, we really do.
Greh Ross: Thanks, Nick.
Nick Nurse: Yeah.
You're welcome.
Man: A final question today
will go to Tim Reynolds
from the Associated Press.
Tim Reynolds: Hey, Nick.
Kind of along the lines of
what you were just asked.
And I mean, I know
in a perfect world you--
I got muted again.
I know in a perfect world,
you said that
you'd be holding hands
and skipping rope today,
which I don't believe
you guys have ever done
in a practice.
I think you're lying to us.
But in a weird way, is this--
can this kind of be
what the doctor ordered
to get --
to get hit in the face,
get that edge back that
you guys really thrived
with last year?
Nick Nurse: First of all,
since you're nitpicking on me,
Tim, a little bit,
asking a question
in a perfect world in this day
and age right now is a little--
a little tough to take
seriously.
No, I'm just kidding.
I don't know, Tim.
I mean, listen, we--
we've certainly been punched
squarely in the nose
and we got to --
we got to stand up and either--
either start playing
and playing better or not.
And that's kind of
where we are.
And -- and I think
it’s a really good question
that you do ask,
but I just really don't think
or it's one of those things
we may not know the answer
for -- for -- for a while.
Tim Reynolds: Does that --
does that mean that
you really don't have to?
I mean, you-- the room is filled
with pros,
guys that have won
championships.
I mean,
you don't have to address it.
You just sort of trust
that the reaction
tomorrow will be
what you want it to be?
Nick Nurse: No, I address it.
