NICK NURSE: Fire away.
- What do you like about your big man rotation so far,
and do you feel like you have the big man rotation?
NICK NURSE: Well, I think there's a lot of choices
there, Michael.
I think that, you know, it's maybe not quite a big man
rotation yet, I think, but some big guys will slide in there.
And I think it changes our team a little bit.
I mean, I think that a number of guys
will play that area of the floor, let's call it.
Some of them aren't necessarily centers and some of them are.
So I think that it does kind of depend
on who's in there at the moment.
But I think there's a lot of guys that'll get into that area
of play at both ends.
- And when you look at Precious and his growth last year,
do you expect him to pick up more or less where he left off?
you know, no one--
I can't think of anyone who grew through a season as much
as he did recently.
NICK NURSE: Yeah, listen.
I think that he's improving all the time.
I think you're right.
I think he had a great especially last half.
I've already talked about I think he had a great spring,
summer, fall so far.
And he's looked really good here in the first three practices.
So yeah, no, I think a good step forward
for him is expected by him first and foremost,
which is the most important, and by all of us, yeah.
- I understand it's really early for this talk,
but have you thought about throwing him
into the starting lineup as opposed
to the 5 you used whenever they were available last year,
or is it too early to say?
NICK NURSE: No, I mean, I think about--
you know what my thoughts are.
My thoughts are is I think there's a lot of guys
that could start, right?
I think we spend a lot of time talking about that.
I think the health and situation dictates a lot of it
that none of us can control, right?
I think it changes on its own and evolves.
And I think we should have a lot of guys ready to start.
I feel like that's just again modern NBA.
There's more than five guys that can start a game.
- And with practice, obviously [INAUDIBLE] you [INAUDIBLE]
a little bit in the second season
as you've stepped up to him.
How do you manage him through that mentally?
NICK NURSE: Well, I would say this, Doug.
I continue to say that his biggest goal would be
to play more consistently above average night in and night out,
right?
I think that none of us should ever expect somebody to have
a good game every night.
It's just not the way it works, right?
But the average to above average games
again needs to increase and go from 2 out of 5 to 3
out of 5 to 4 out of 6 to-- you know,
like, that's what, to me, is going to show
our growth and progress.
And I would imagine he'll have some games
where we're like, wowie, you know,
how did he get 25 tonight?
And then he'll probably have a few games where we're
wondering where he was like any of the guys,
not him in particular.
But like, for me, I think, Doug, and this
is what's most important-- can he
put an above average performance together without having to show
up in the points column, right?
Can he run?
Can he rebound?
Can he defend?
Can he make plays even if it's one of the nights
the ball's not finding him or going in and out or whatever
and you still feel like, man, that guy
really impacted the game?
You know, I really see that as a goal for a lot of guys.
- How is he different from the player
you saw at the end of last year
NICK NURSE: Just a lot--
just feels, I think, a lot more comfortable, right?
I just think that he understands what we're doing.
I think he feels like he fits in.
I think he's a versatile player.
I think he likes to see himself as that.
I think we let him express that.
And I just think he's maturing and getting
used to his surroundings, and I think
he enjoys Joey's playing for us and all that kind of stuff.
So I think all that stuff kind of goes into just giving
him a lot more confidence.
- [INAUDIBLE] coaching Bruce right now.
Like, after he kind of [INAUDIBLE],,
at the end of last year, he really seemed to be a guy who
understood his role in a way that some
guys don't ever quite get to--
NICK NURSE: Yeah.
- They're always trying to push against something.
So now you have a guy I presume who's--
he knows what you want.
You know what he wants.
And it's got to be pretty comfortable
feeling back and forth.
NICK NURSE: Yeah, I mean, I think that there's always been
our share of ups and downs, right,
with his performance play, his happiness, minutes,
all that kind of stuff, right, which, you know,
that's part of the growing process too.
And I just think that I and--
we, the coaching staff, appreciate the things he does,
and we try to get him to do those
things because they're really-- it's really a unique--
he's kind of a unique player, you know, in the league
with that.
I mean, who blocks so many 3 point attempts than Chris?
Not hardly any.
I mean, you know, he comes flying in for tip dunks.
Like, he brings energy.
He plays much tougher than he might-- his body might look
or whatever it is that makes him unique.
And also, again, I think we accept the fact that he's not
going to be great every night.
There's some nights when he's, you know, picking and popping
and not hitting those, right?
And he can't live in that world.
Like, like that's always just extra for us.
Continue to run.
Continue to crash glass.
Continue to block shots and continue to be that spirit,
you know, that force of spirit that he
is out there and playing hard.
- In regards to preserving Fred, something that's
come up a few times over the last few days, one
of the things that you've talked about
is Pascal and Scottie continuing to evolve as creators.
But could Malachi factor into that as well?
What do you expect-- NICK NURSE: For sure.
- --from him-- NICK NURSE: For sure.
I still-- I think the rotation second unit, whatever,
the guys coming off the bench, is going to be evolving
process, and that's what these guys are
fighting for right now, right?
I think that, you know, somebody's got
to step up and win those jobs.
For the moment, right, I mean, they
got to-- somebody's got to win them now as we
head into whatever, game one.
And then we play it out from there as well.
But, you know, it's going to be a close call and a lot
of those things, and I think again,
there's times when you can say--
you can make a case for whoever it is, right?
But probably, you know, I think Josh figuring out
who's going to play and all that kind of stuff
is always the intricacies that we're going through
at the start of training camp and the start of first 20
or 25 games of the year for sure.
- It seemed like Malachi was lighting up all the games
that he played this summer.
NICK NURSE: Yeah.
- How much did you pay attention to those pro ams?
And I mean, obviously, there's the level of competition
caveat in those games.
How much can you glean from them [INAUDIBLE]??
Does it help the confidence on his standpoint, or--
NICK NURSE: Yeah, I mean, listen.
I like that he's out there playing.
I still think that being on the floor and playing, you know,
when you're young and in the summer is, you know,
you got to get out there and test some of this drill work
you're doing, right?
And that's the way to do it.
My thing is I've noticed from him just in the times
that we did see him this summer is a guy carrying himself
with a little more confidence.
I think, you know, the way he played
and scored in some of those leagues just gave him a feel.
And that's what summer league can do.
I mean, I think even if you're a college player-- you see
college players go play in a summer league,
and they come back the next year a different player because all
of a sudden, they feel like, jeez, I was scoring like crazy
all summer.
I actually can score, you know, or whatever.
So just see him again playing with a lot of confidence.
He was really outstanding today in practice.
He was making shots and hitting floaters,
and his team was having a lot of success out there today.
So it was good, really good, to see.
That's what you want to see.
You want to see some of that carry over to now, right?
You don't want to see a guy that goes out, has a great summer,
works like crazy, has-- plays in these games, [INAUDIBLE],,
and all of a sudden, none of it shows up here in the fall.
And so it was good to see here today.
- You think he's got a better understanding of some
of the other things you were talking about with him
in terms of pushing pace, picking up, just--
NICK NURSE: He under-- he under--
yeah, he understands it, right?
He understands it.
He's very intelligent, I think, as far as just everything,
especially with basketball.
So he understand it, and now he's just got to do it, right?
- Last one.
NICK NURSE: --for the team to be out West here and playing
and [INAUDIBLE] get out there [INAUDIBLE] to see [INAUDIBLE]..
- Yep.
NICK NURSE: [INAUDIBLE] team's perspective,
how good is it to be on a sort of retreat
like this from team building perspective?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, it's always good.
This is part of the reason that we normally leave Toronto,
you know?
I think it gives us a chance to dial
in and focus and be together a little bit more, right?
You know, when we're home, everybody's got
all kinds of things going on.
And you know, so it gives you a chance
to really focus in on it.
And you're right.
It gives us a chance to get to know some of the new guys
and iron out some of the new philosophies or tactics
that we're using as well.
And again, it's just more about togetherness and focus.
It's good, yeah.