FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Philadelphia 76ers are getting ready to begin a new season under the guidance of a new voice. Nick Nurse takes over as the team’s head coach after three seasons of Doc Rivers’ leadership.
Rivers was a very successful coach who helped change a great lot in Philadelphia. However, the Sixers were unable to get past the second round of the playoffs. They were ousted in the conference semifinals in all three seasons under Rivers.
Nurse enters a situation similar to the Toronto Raptors when he took over. It was a team that had issues getting over the hump in the postseason and was looking to finally break through.
Two days in training camp, Danuel House Jr. explained what a Nurse practice has been like.
“Great,” said House Jr. “I mean, breaking everything down, working with guys, taking his time teaching us new things, and giving us confidence. So it’s been great for the last, I would say, 48 hours for all of us.”
House Jr., in his second season in Philadelphia, was asked to describe the differences between the two coaches. The veteran out of Texas A&M went on to discuss what he views are two different coaching styles.
“It’s just a lot more selfless basketball,” House Jr. explained. “It’s not so much of two guys having a ball. Doc is two guys, ball dominant. Nick Nurse is everybody play together. Everybody works with each other. Help, cuts, get your brother open shots. You can see the difference night and day.”
It is true the Sixers ran a lot of pick-and-roll under Rivers, and why not? Joel Embiid and James Harden nearly ran it to perfection.
Under Nurse, there will be far more free-flowing offense, and he wants to get everybody a chance to contribute. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers handle themselves under Nurse.
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