Nick Nurse on spacing, focus and avoiding fouling

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse touches on how the Raptors can achieve good spacing, bench players providing consistent production and his stance on letting players play through fouls.

Video Transcript

- Nick, [INAUDIBLE].

NICK NURSE: Good morning. Good afternoon.

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: OK.

- You touched on this [INAUDIBLE], just this idea of being [INAUDIBLE] and really, you know, [INAUDIBLE] four on four as you've done with other teams. How much of your discussion is paying attention to that going forward? I'm just curious as to why you're so short handed.

NICK NURSE: Well, I mean, we've got-- there's still ways to adjust to it. We actually, I thought, did a decent job there a few times last night. I mean, the couple things is we've got to get him freed. We've got to screen and still screen or change angles to screens or change directions. Got to try to get him on some back cuts here and there but then also use that as part of-- you know, it takes a help defender out for them, and we did, you know, do a decent job there for a stretch of using him as kind of up-the-floor screener, and Scottie turned the corner a few times, Pascal at one time. So there is-- yeah, we've got to visit that and revisit that and plan that a little bit more. Yeah.

- Can you give us a little [INAUDIBLE] on, let's say, now [INAUDIBLE] both of them got [INAUDIBLE]. You know, having another playmaker, [INAUDIBLE] ball handler out there.

NICK NURSE: Yeah, maybe. Maybe. I think that, again, Michael, I think you're right. We get those guys to bring it up and get him off the ball a little bit. You know, and we may do maybe some other guys too, you know, handling up top. Yep.

- What did you make of Malachi? It seemed like he got good shots. [INAUDIBLE].

NICK NURSE: Yeah, I mean, that's-- I thought he's fighting out there. He's moving good. He's creating shots. You know, he's got some quickness and some stop-start to get free. But, you know, the bottom line is he's got to-- he's got to shoot a lot higher percentage than he's shooting, right?

So he gives us a lift when those-- when he comes in and bangs one. He usually can do that, you know, right away. But again, I think that in a game right now for us that there's small margin for error. We're just-- we're just going to have to make more of those shots, you know?

And he's a good shooter. You know, he's a good scorer. He can do it. He's just got to get a little more comfortable out there, get a few more reps, and get a little more swag and knock them down.

- Does, you know, knocking down a shot or, you know, two minutes, maybe it was a minute and a half to [INAUDIBLE] it down to [INAUDIBLE].

NICK NURSE: Well, yeah. I mean, there's times when, you know, we can get him-- you know, like I said, he can kind of free himself. There's a few actions that we like to do when he's in to get him-- you know, get him looks, you know, because we do have confidence that he can-- that he can knock them down. He is kind of a scoring guard, right?

So yeah, it would be you just need to string them up, you know, just like any of those guys. You know, they make one, and we kind of like to go back to him quickly. And then stringing them up is kind of a next step sometimes, right? You've got to-- even when you make them, you've got to have a short memory to not get-- you know, not get carried away of like, you know, I've made one. You know, the next one is just as important as the last one you made, right?

And I'm not saying that's the case, but you know what I'm saying. There's a little bit of sense of once you hit one and you're getting ready to hit another one, there's a little bit of sense of emotional control you've got to have to kind of forget that you're maybe excited that you got another chance right away, right?

- [INAUDIBLE] that point [INAUDIBLE] was saying it's really important, especially for [INAUDIBLE] to have that [INAUDIBLE]. Have you seen that growth from Malachi, [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Yeah, he's-- you know, I think we've all talked about-- you know, you guys ask me what are we looking for out there? You know, one of the things is, as a point guard, is some leadership, some organization, and all this stuff. He's taken huge steps forward in that. He does a pretty good job.

He's getting more vocal. He's getting guys organized when we're running set pieces and things. He's done a good job of-- a much better job of not letting-- you know, I think in the past there have been several positions in a row that looked disorganized with him. You know, you just can't have that, right? In fact, that group's got to get-- you know, they've got to be organized to a T, and he's done a much better job with that.

- I think Greg spoke the other day about how when he was coming into the league, he had this mindset where he felt he played better on the road [INAUDIBLE] certain animosity, I guess, with the crowd or whatever, he just felt more prepared for. Is that something you've seen before and do you think that maybe some players on the team are similar in that sense?

NICK NURSE: I don't know. I just think that we have, in general, had some really good road players, right? I know Kyle was a great road player. We've had a-- we've had a real kind of band-together mentality on the road and a real grittiness to us on the road. I guess we have a little bit this year too more times than we have at home. That's for sure.

- Can it be easier to play on the road? People think, well, you've got the crowd behind them [INAUDIBLE] at home, but maybe it's tougher.

NICK NURSE: Yeah. I think it can be. I mean, I think that, you know, obviously once the ball goes up, it should seemingly be harder with the crowd and all that stuff, right? But I think things leading up to the game may be more difficult at home.

- Any updates on Khem or Gary, [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Gary practiced today. Khem did not.

- 11 games back for Pascal now. Where do you see his game [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Pardon me?

- It's 11 games now that Pascal's been back. Where do you see [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Well, I think he's-- I think he's doing good. I think he's coming along. You know, I think one of the big things, especially right now, is he's got to stay on the floor for us. I know he's still piling up minutes, but there's a couple of games in a row where he's gotten in foul trouble in both halves, right? And, you know, you just got-- you just can't-- you know, you can't get yourself in situations where you're-- well, you can't put yourself in those situations so they call them on you.

You know, you just got to be a little more cognizant. You know once you get the first one early in the game, you don't want to get the second one in the first quarter because, you know, now you're in a little bit-- a little bit of foul trouble, and you can't get the third one in the first half. You know, you just end up getting the early first one and the early second one, and then you're just kind of-- that's kind of where it starts.

And I'm-- and I think-- and you guys, you know, have seen this too in the last couple games. We're using-- you know, I'm a big proponent of fouling, but you've got to use them correctly, right? They've got to be consequences at the rim, and we're having way too many touchy ones up the floor or out 40 feet away. You can't-- you cannot use them there. You cannot. That is bad basketball, right?

I'm not saying-- I know you're asking me about Pascal. I can't recall any of his last night, but you guys can recall a handful or more of other guys just, you know, before the play even starts, we're holding way away from the basket or we reach at half court or we-- you know, stuff like that. You cannot do that because, like I said, there's going to be so many consequences at the rim that you're going to have to stand in there on. And, you know, I'm not saying you're trying to foul there, but when there's collisions at the rim, you're going to get some of those, and that's where they should be, right?

- [INAUDIBLE] now with the [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: 100%. 100%, yeah.

- [INAUDIBLE] Pascal those four fouls in the third quarter I think for 10 minutes, and you had Chris at the table when Pascal got his fifth. [INAUDIBLE] play those 10 minutes with four fouls. Is it just trusting or is it in terms of that being [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Yeah. I think it's more just match-up driven, and you're right. I think that we're hanging-- you know, it seems like the game's in the balance a bit. I know there's a long way to go, but, you know, we don't want to lose touch with it, and you're kind of rolling the dice there, right?

And I would say it works out a lot more in your favor than it doesn't, right? I'm always-- I'm always leaning towards letting guys play through the two early fouls in the first or-- you know, I am. I'm leaning that way even though it's like-- even though it's like a long way to go. And if they do happen to get the one, it looks really bad. You know, the feel and the look of it looks really bad if it goes the wrong way, but I think that, you know, if you lined up 10 chances where you let a guy play, he picks up that extra one, like, twice.

You know, I think overwhelmingly the evidence would say you can let guys play way more than us coaches all do, right? But I think, again, the situation of being a little thin and all that stuff, you know, certainly leans me that way. Even though I'm leaning that way already, it leans me even further probably.

- You look at [INAUDIBLE]. Do you see him a little bit different player than [INAUDIBLE] last year and even [INAUDIBLE] this year. [INAUDIBLE].

NICK NURSE: Well, I mean, he's getting better. Michael just, you know, as most guys do, I think that-- you know, he's still-- you know, the hardest, biggest thing to defend with him is just his sheer size, length, athleticism, and force. Still, right, for sure.

But as a lot of these guys do, they become better passers. They become better shooters. They play a little bit more in a different rhythm. You know, I mean, there was a time when he would just grab every one and head 100 miles an hour for the whole game down the court. I mean, he still does that quite a bit, and I don't blame him. I mean-- [LAUGHS]-- I would too.

Wouldn't that be fun to grab the ball and run the court like that and dunk on everybody? I would try it as much as possible too if I could do it. But no, I think there's a more mature, more rhythmic, more cerebral, all those things that guys get as they grow.

- [INAUDIBLE] the point where you might get all [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Well, I think you-- you know, you and I always seem to fight about this. We-- [LAUGHS]. We've got to stop him. We've got to stop him just freight training down the lane, and when he kicks it out, we've got to stop those guys too, right? So I don't-- I don't-- you know, I don't-- certainly don't like watching him just go in time after time after time and get point-blank dunks and layups and shots, right?

And it's hard for one guy to stand in there and do that with him, so you need multiple bodies, multiple defenders and things. So it's not easy. Nope, OG is not ready for tomorrow.

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: Got to do both there somehow. Yep. Where are you going, Doug?

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: OK. See you later. [LAUGHS]

- [INAUDIBLE] saying that he wasn't getting calls, and the explanation was [INAUDIBLE] stronger than the other players, so he [INAUDIBLE]. Do you see that? Like, when you talk [INAUDIBLE].

NICK NURSE: Yeah, I mean, I think that a lot of the guys-- I mean, I would say, you know, even like LeBron would say he doesn't get a lot of-- you know, gets hit so much. And, you know, I've had talks with, you know, his coaches and stuff, and they say, you know, yeah, they should-- they see he's getting hit a lot. He should get more calls than he's getting even though it appears that they're getting a lot. You know, and they shoot a lot of high-volume free throws, but again, they're going in there so much they're going to.

You know, I think the more volume and more force they take it to the rim with, you've got to stand in there somehow. And if you stand in there, there's going to be some contact. Then it's just a matter with which way it's going to go or if it's marginal or if it's significant or whatever.

But I think also that's a lot of human nature and tendency, right, when you see a big, strong guy bounce a little guy or a little guy bounce into a big guy and you think, well, that doesn't seem quite fair. [LAUGHS] We're not going to call-- you can't call all-- you can't call all of them there, right? But I think that's human nature.

I think I mentioned that earlier in the season. It used to be a big British basketball thing. When the guy was littler, they would never call the foul on him. Maybe it's a soccer thing. I don't know. Little guy tackling a--

- They do play the advantage.

NICK NURSE: Yeah, advantage, disadvantage. Yeah.

- Would you like to see that [INAUDIBLE] on taking fouls, like, to stop a fast break [INAUDIBLE]?

NICK NURSE: Would I like to see what?

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: Oh, right. You're out on a break and they take one and you were almost assured 2 points, and you take-- yeah.

- [INAUDIBLE]. What's it called? A--

NICK NURSE: Clear path.

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: It's hard to get a clear path too, huh?

- I know.

NICK NURSE: It's hard to get a clear path.

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: Well, I think-- yeah, you're right. It's rarely clear in most people's eyes. I'm not even sure what a clear path looks like, to be honest with you. I really don't.

- So would that be interesting to you?

NICK NURSE: I mean, I think that obviously, you know, the game, the rules are what they are, and people are using them smart. You know, that's a smart play to make you take it out rather than give up the points, right? It seems a little-- well, usually you stole the ball and you're out three, four on one or something like that, so you should seem to be rewarded more for that rather than rewarding the team that just coughed it up because they took a take foul and they get to just go back and play defense like nothing happened. Well, something did just happen. They just turned it over. I don't know.

I'm pretty comfortable with the way the rules are right now. I'm not trying to get into a rule-changing debate here today. That's for sure. That's 114th on my list of issues to deal with. So I don't have time for that one today.

- [INAUDIBLE]

NICK NURSE: I will. I hope it's soon.

[LAUGHTER]

- Thanks, everyone.

NICK NURSE: All right, everybody. See you later.