adminCoach Nurse paid careful attention to Leonard’s health.
Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse recently appeared on ‘The Pat Bev’, a podcast hosted by fellow team member Patrick Beverley. Nurses coach recalled the days when he won the championship with the Toronto Raptors.
Coach Nurse began his NBA coaching career by taking charge of Toronto in the 2018-2019 season. At the time, Toronto was reorganizing its roster. They dismissed DeMar DeRozan, the team’s ace and one-club man, and recruited Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard was already one of the best swingmen who was evaluated as a complete player in both offense and defense. Accordingly, the addition of Leonard was expected to sharply increase Toronto’s competitiveness. But there were variables. This was Leonard’s physical condition.
Leonard suffered from frequent injuries in the 2017-2018 season and played in only 9 games. No matter how talented a player is, if he does not show up on the court, the team will inevitably feel bad.스포츠토토
The Nurses coach said, “I don’t think anyone knew what Kawhi Leonard’s physical condition would be like. At the time, it looked to me like he hadn’t played in 12 to 14 months, so we didn’t rush Leonard’s return. We took measures like banning him from back-to-back games.” explained.
There was also good news for Leonard’s perfect health management. It was a great performance from his teammates. The Toronto players went 17-5 in 22 games without Leonard. Thanks to this, the Nurses coach was able to manage Leonard’s health with ease.
Coach Nurse said, “Leonard stayed healthy in his own way, but the team played really well so we were able to take care of Leonard’s health throughout the season. People were probably worried about what was going on when Leonard wasn’t playing, but the rest of the players were playing. “It went well and I worked hard to take care of Leonard’s health for no particular reason.”
Coach Nurse’s strategy was ultimately a huge success. Leonard showed off his health by appearing in 60 games that season, averaging 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. He led Toronto to the championship in the playoffs by showing off his prowess by scoring an average of 30.5 points.