How will Nick Nurse coach the Sixers? These moments from his Raptors tenure provide clues

Nick Nurse is getting an early-season return to Toronto, following five seasons as the Raptors’ head coach and a decade with the organization.

That is where Nurse immediately guided a Kawhi Leonard-led team to a championship in his first season as an NBA head coach, then developed more unsung players Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet into All-Stars. And it’s where he earned a reputation as a creative tactician, earning the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2020.

Nurse’s Raptors tenure provides glimpses into the type of coach he could be with the 76ers. To provide some examples of the games and moments that stand out, The Inquirer sought help from three reporters who cover the Raptors — Michael Grange from SportsNet, Josh Lewenberg from TSN and Doug Smith from The Toronto Star — who also provided insight on Nurse shortly after he was hired in Philly.

Nurse’s premier stroke of strategic genius came in the 2019 Finals, when he went to a gimmicky “box-and-1″ defense at the end of Game 2 to lock down Stephen Curry and fluster a Golden State Warriors team in the midst of its dynasty.

But in the fourth quarter of their title-clinching Game 6, Nurse also went against the grain on the offensive end. Instead of leaning on actions spearheaded by Leonard and point guard Kyle Lowry, the coach turned to a two-man game of Siakam and VanVleet.

VanVleet got free for three three-pointers in that final period, and was fouled on another attempt and made all three free throws. That strategy propelled Toronto over the finish line to the championship.

That is an example of Nurse being unafraid to allow non-stars to make crucial plays. With the Sixers, such a belief could provide more opportunity for Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Kelly Oubre Jr., and others.

One reason for the years-long competitive banter between Nurse and Joel Embiid before they became a tandem is because of the coach’s emphasis on shutting down the opponent’s superstars.

Perhaps that was most evident relatively early in the Raptors’ season after winning the championship when, oddly enough, they zeroed in on then-Rocket James Harden. Harden had entered the game averaging 39.5 points per game, and had totaled 60 and 50 points, respectively, in his previous two outings.

» READ MORE: One subplot of Sixers-Bucks: Nick Nurse faces off against former pupil Adrian Griffin

The Raptors, meanwhile, no longer had Leonard’s perimeter defensive prowess. Yet they turned to OG Anunoby to drape Harden, and had VanVleet trap virtually anytime Harden crossed halfcourt.

That did stifle Harden, who only took 11 shots to finish with 23 points. But the other Rockets were left open beyond the arc all night, sinking 19 of those 50 three-point attempts. Most importantly, Toronto lost the game, and Nurse called the approach an “interesting experiment.”

Still, it’s an illustration of Nurse’s ultra-aggressive defensive style that he has been instilling in the Sixers throughout the preseason. And of his willingness to try things that may not work.

Later that season, the Raptors again turned up the defensive intensity to rally from down 30 points late in the third quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks. Lowry was at the forefront of a full-court press, along with lesser-known role players Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris Boucher, Terence Davis and Malcolm Miller.

It was the biggest comeback in Raptors franchise history. To be fair, Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic did not play in the game. But neither did Siakam, Marc Gasol or Norman Powell for the Raptors.

That was an in-game adjustment for Nurse, who told reporters after the game that he decided, “We’re going to give it a go here to start the fourth.”

After 10 years in The North, Nurse is still settling into his new surroundings in Philly. An unconventional way he got involved in Toronto culture was by doing cameos in random local television shows. One was a police procedural called “Pretty Hard Cases,” while the other was a period crime drama called “Murdoch Mysteries” that has been airing for 17 seasons. In the latter appearance, Nurse played a locker-room attendant providing coaching tips to the main character.

Does Quinta Brunson — who once donned a Harden beard on camera — need to get Nurse on board for a guest spot in Abbott Elementary? Or how about a Hustle sequel, after the real-life Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez) played for Nurse with the Raptors?