Nick Nurse is known for his aggressive defensive style. Here’s how he’s applying it to the Sixers.

Before 76ers training camp began, players watched a series of video clips highlighting last season’s disruptive, physical defensive moments. Nick Nurse was not even the Sixers’ coach then, but he used the compilation as evidence that his new team was capable of playing his desired style.

“But we’ve got to do more of it,” guard De’Anthony Melton added while reflecting on that film session.

Nurse has built a coaching reputation on relentless and creative tactics, from abruptly shifting to a box-and-one scheme during the NBA Finals to deploying a slew of long-armed Raptors during his recent seasons in Toronto. Now Nurse’s objective is to successfully apply those principles to this Sixers roster. The preseason has offered splashes of what they could become on that end of the floor, even while playing all three games without interior force Joel Embiid.

“It’s all about heart and energy,” veteran forward Tobias Harris said. “Just the flexibility of being able to go outside the box and figuring out different ways [to play]. But [Nurse] talks to the whole team about just being committed to that end and bringing it each and every night.”

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Nurse took over a Sixers team with a solid defensive base, last season ranking eighth in the NBA in efficiency at 112.7 points allowed per 100 possessions. But their new coach’s imprint instantly popped during the preseason opener at Boston, such as when Kelly Oubre Jr., Patrick Beverley, and Jaden Springer collectively swarmed Celtics star Jaylen Brown to knock the ball out of bounds. Then, it was present throughout Monday’s win at Brooklyn, when the Sixers parlayed 28 Nets turnovers into 38 points.

Generating takeaways by pressuring the ball and jumping passing lanes has long been at the core of Nurse’s philosophy. His Raptors ranked in the top two in the NBA in turnovers forced, and in the top four in steals, in each of the past three seasons. That helped Toronto rank third last season in fast-break points (17.8 per game), a potential weapon in Philly given standout guard Tyrese Maxey’s blazing speed.

Nurse believes maintaining an aggressive approach stems from intangible competitiveness and toughness, noting that Oubre, Beverley, and P.J. Tucker are among this group’s “feisty dudes.” Coaches fostered that intensity during training camp by letting contact slide in scrimmages that would likely be called fouls during a game, because “you’d rather start that way and dial down a bit,” Nurse said.

Flipping a possession, however, also requires physical tools such as athleticism and quick hands, along with the discipline to be in the right spot, plus the trust that teammates will properly communicate and cover for each other.

“It’ll cause some havoc for some other teams,” said veteran wing Danny Green, who played for Nurse’s 2018-19 Raptors championship team.

Nurse also immediately identified the two glaring deficiencies from last season’s defense — that they ranked 28th in fast-break points allowed (15.5 per game) and 26th in rebounding (40.9 per game) — that “can’t be” moving forward.

That’s why sprinting back and blocking out were included in the fundamental drills to begin camp. So was altering some terminology, such as using “strong” and “weak” instead of directional words, Melton said. Yet Oubre added that learning the base system has been “fairly easy” because of Nurse’s straightforward messaging.

“He says what he wants out of us,” Oubre said. “It’s up to us to go do it — and that’s the way we get playing time.”

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Nurse has echoed that sentiment, saying the pecking order of a competitive wing group will partially be determined by who best executes those team defensive concepts. And though Green has the most experience playing under Nurse, fourth-year big man Paul Reed perhaps best resembles the long, active prototype of Nurse’s most recent Toronto teams.

The unit, however, will still be anchored by Embiid as a rim protector. Nurse has challenged Embiid to “take a few more swings” to inherently increase his block potential (1.7 per game last season), highlighting one during camp when he closed the gap and swatted the ball from behind. Embiid, though, also wants to remain solid positionally, to intimidate opposing offensive players with his presence alone.

“Make sure that, first of all, they don’t get in the paint,” Embiid said, “or they don’t even attempt a shot or they’re scared to do so.”

The Sixers’ on-paper positional defensive weakness is its starting backcourt, if James Harden eventually plays in games. Harden has never directed his effort to that end of the floor. Maxey, whose 6-foot-2 frame will always bring limitations, gained confidence late last season while picking up full-court. Now, he is focusing on playing gaps off the ball, rebounding from the back side to ignite transition opportunities, and being more vocal.

Fellow guards Melton and Beverley, meanwhile, have always been stingy on-ball defenders. On media day, Melton cracked a smile when asked about the possibilities for him in Nurse’s schemes.

“I’m so excited just to see just what he comes up with,” said Melton, who has averaged 1.4 steals per game during his career. “… Just see where his mind is at. Me and Nick Nurse have had several conversations about what I can bring to the table.”

Nurse has noticed that other players are equally antsy about moving from the basics to the more complex. The coach introduced one scheme during their last practice at Colorado State that he has “kind of been messing around with for a few years,” including while coaching the Canadian national team. As experimentation continues, Green has emphasized the need for mutual trust.

“Expect the unexpected,” he said. “He’s going to throw some different things out there. It will be fun [at] times. And, sometimes, it may be confusing. But as long as we are on the same page and we trust in it, we’ll always have a shot.”

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Which elements eventually stick — and if the overall intensity can carry through the regular-season grind — remains to be seen. For now, the Sixers are working through in-game lapses.

After that ferocious first half in Brooklyn, the Nets cut into a 21-point lead by bombing away from three-point range. Nurse, however, said he will “live through some of that stuff” because the Sixers limited Brooklyn to 38 points in the paint.

Like late in the second quarter, when Oubre came from behind and elevated to reject a shot inside by Day’Ron Sharpe, before effusively swinging his arms into the letter X.

Perhaps that will make the next video compilation highlighting the Sixers’ defensive style under their new coach.

“That was everything,” Oubre said. “Defense leading to easy offense.”