Nick Nurse Coaching Basketball 3-Pack

with Nick Nurse,
Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors (NBA) Head Coach from 2018 to 2023;
2019 NBA Champions;
2020 NBA Coach of the Year;
2020 NBA All-Star Game Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2018;
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2011 to 2013;
2013 NBA (D-League) Champions;
Iowa Energy (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2007 to 2011;
2011 NBA (D-League) Champions;
2011 NBA G-League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year;
head coach in the British Basketball League (BBL) for the Manchester Giants, London Towers and Brighton Bears between 1995 and 2006;
2x BBL Champions;
2x BBL Coach of the Year;
2003 English Cup;
1999 Uni-Ball Trophy;
Head coach for Telindus Oostende (Belgium) in 1998;
1998 Belgian Cup & Super Cup;
played collegiately for Northern Iowa

Offensive concepts from the NBA are becoming more common in lower levels of basketball. While many might think that these concepts are difficult to comprehend, Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors makes the complex understandable by providing the basics of offensive basketball played at the professional level. The concepts presented in this video make it easy to understand for coaches and players at any level of the game.

Offensive Overview

Unlike most traditional 4-out, 1-in offenses, Coach Nurse's spread offense is designed to spread the floor to create driving opportunities. With perimeter players spread around the 3-point line and a fifth player in the "dunker spot", the offense is designed to create space and facilitate any player looking to attack the basket.

Coach Nurse talks about the two main objectives of this offensive approach: creating space and attacking the paint. He discusses how offense is about creating space, which allows teams to become harder to guard. Additionally, Nurse explains why points per possession increase when the ball gets into the paint, especially when drive-and-kick scenarios develop, thanks to the setup of the offense.

Attack Phase

Regardless of how the ball was collected, attacking in transition is key for creating space and opening up opportunities to attack the paint. In Coach Nurse's system, wings sprint to the corners as the point guard advances the ball. Whenever the point guard gets the basketball, they must push and attack before the defense can get set.

Another way to attack the paint is to execute Pitch with the trailer. The point guard drives to the middle of the floor and works a hand-off to the trailer, who looks to attack the basket. On the drive, the trailer looks to get to the free throw line, finish at the rim, or kick out for a 3-point shot opportunity for a perimeter player.

The last aspect of Coach Nurse's attack phase is to incorporate the dunker spot. In transition, the first post player down the floor looks to rim run and get a layup. If they don't get a transition layup, they fill one of the two dunker spots and stay on that side for the duration of the possession. The rim runner then fills the dunker spot and plays for dump-off passes on drives and rebounds.

Pick & Roll and Counters

Like many NBA coaches, Coach Nurse incorporates the pick & roll into his offense. In transition, he likes to execute Swing, Drag, and Double Drag as ways to generate drives going to the basket. Additionally, the post in the dunker spot can be used as a ball screener to get more drives going downhill and set up high-percentage shots.

If the trailer gets too far out in front of the point guard during attack phase, the trailer has the option to run Pindown, a counter where the wing opposite the ball receives a pindown screen. Off the pindown, the cutter can either get a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer or curl into the paint, among other options. Nurse also shows the Pindown Exchange counter that works well off this action.

This video from Coach Nurse does an outstanding job of taking what many people would find to be a complex system and making it understandable to anyone interested in running an NBA-style offense.

125 minutes. 2021.

with Nick Nurse,
Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors (NBA) Head Coach from 2018 to 2023;
2019 NBA Champions;
2020 NBA Coach of the Year;
2020 NBA All-Star Game Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2018;
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2011 to 2013;
2013 NBA (D-League) Champions;
Iowa Energy (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2007 to 2011;
2011 NBA (D-League) Champions;
2011 NBA G-League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year;
head coach in the British Basketball League (BBL) for the Manchester Giants, London Towers and Brighton Bears between 1995 and 2006;
2x BBL Champions;
2x BBL Coach of the Year;
2003 English Cup;
1999 Uni-Ball Trophy;
Head coach for Telindus Oostende (Belgium) in 1998;
1998 Belgian Cup & Super Cup;
played collegiately for Northern Iowa

Beyond basic fundamentals and philosophies, the ability to adjust defensive coverages provides an opportunity for teams to attack an offense in multiple ways. In this video, 2019 NBA champion coach Nick Nurse demonstrates ways that his teams have been able to defend ball screens, double the low post, and switch at an elite level.

Ball Screen Coverage

The ball screen has become one of the most effective offensive weapons in basketball. Every team has to have a plan as to how they defend different varieties of ball screens. In this section, Coach Nurse shows how his teams defend middle and side ball screens.

When defending the middle ball screen, Nurse demonstrates several coverages, including:

• Wall - Take away the jump shot off the ball screen.
• High Wall - Play a step above the ball screener with the same technique as Wall.
• Late Switch - Occurs if the dribbler breaks the free throw line with speed.

Among the different ways to defend a side ball screen is to execute "Blue" coverage, also known as icing or downing. One key to making this ball screen coverage work is getting into the ball handler instead of "opening the gates" and getting blown by on the drive.

Additionally, Nurse covers the responsibilities for the remaining three defenders in ball screen coverage. Helping out on drives and being in proper help position are covered for each type of ball screen action.

Doubling the Low Post

Coach Nurse presents three different ways to double the low post on any catch. The first is to double the post from the passer. Here, the player defending the passer goes with them into the lane on a cut to the basket before doubling with the low post's defender.

The second is from the nail (middle of the free throw line). The top defender playing help defense sprints to the low post and sets the double team with the low post's defender. Also included is how to double the low post from the baseline.

Off each of these double teams in the low post, Nurse shows how to rotate out of the trap and how to defend passes out of the low post. The basic technique is to rotate to the defender who went to double team the low post.

Switching

Beginning with the basics of guarding a dribble hand-off between perimeter players, Coach Nurse shows how to effectively switch on defense. The first key is to communicate the switch to eliminate confusion among the defensive players involved in this coverage.

The biggest key to being an effective switching team is to switch to disrupt, instead of switching for the sake of switching. The concept of T.T.T.T. is explained by having defenders involved in a switch "touch the other defender, talk, take, and touch the new guy."

Another point of emphasis in a switching defense is to plug the gap. The off-ball defender in the switch must hang back and make sure that the dribbler does not have the ability to attack the rim. Once the drive to the basket is taken away, they can go pick up their man.

Coach Nurse shows the numerous ways that defensive coverages can be changed to create confusion and stymie any offense. This is a fantastic video for anyone seeking high-level defensive strategies.

76 minutes. 2021.

with Nick Nurse,
Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors (NBA) Head Coach from 2018 to 2023;
2019 NBA Champions;
2020 NBA Coach of the Year;
2020 NBA All-Star Game Head Coach;
Toronto Raptors Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2018;
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2011 to 2013;
2013 NBA (D-League) Champions;
Iowa Energy (NBA D-League) Head Coach from 2007 to 2011;
2011 NBA (D-League) Champions;
2011 NBA G-League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year;
head coach in the British Basketball League (BBL) for the Manchester Giants, London Towers and Brighton Bears between 1995 and 2006;
2x BBL Champions;
2x BBL Coach of the Year;
2003 English Cup;
1999 Uni-Ball Trophy;
Head coach for Telindus Oostende (Belgium) in 1998;
1998 Belgian Cup & Super Cup;
played collegiately for Northern Iowa

A winner at every level of basketball that he's coached, Nick Nurse - 2020 NBA Coach of the Year with the Toronto Raptors - uses this on-court presentation to teach the characteristics of basketball's best shooters. With an emphasis on developing shooters to execute offense and score the ball, Coach Nurse discusses his approach to crafting quality shooters that can translate to any level of the game.

Shooting Factors

Coach Nurse begins with the concept of getting the shot lined up on a single line. The middle of the ball should always be in line with the middle of the basket. To achieve this, lines are on the court to illustrate the point, just like at the Toronto Raptors' practice facility.

The second shooting factor is arc on the shot. If the arc is too much, the ball will not travel as far as needed. Likewise, too little arc results in a shot being more likely to miss, as it will hit the rim and not have a chance to go in the basket. Developing proper form and mechanics will reduce these issues and get the correct arc on the ball.

The last shooting factor is depth, or the distance the shot must travel. Along with drills and teaching techniques designed to improve form and arc, drills are also presented that develop shooting range.

Perfect Shooting Drills

To teach shot mechanics, Coach Nurse emphasizes two main drills. The first is Perfect Form. In this drill, players work on form and execute on a cadence. Athletes face each other while on volleyball lines on the court to practice the visual of getting everything lined up to shoot the ball correctly.

The second drill is Perfects, with the plan to shoot the perfect shot. In three lines, one at the front of the rim and one on each side of the rim, players shoot with the target being a green piece of tape on the rim. The objective of the drill is to get all net and make sure that everything is lined up accordingly. The follow-up to the Perfects drill is The Backup Game. Here, players get to take a step back from the last spot where they made a shot.

3-Point Shooting Drills

One of the most important shooting abilities is to be able to make shots from a long distance. Many of the game's best shooters have the ability to make deep shots well behind the NBA 3-point line.

To test athletes and their ability to make long range shots, the Deep Threes drill is presented. Using a similar concept to adding more weight to a bar for a bench press, Coach Nurse extends the shooting range well beyond the 3-point line. Another drill that can be used to develop 3-point shooting is Five Spot Shooting, which is a great drill for players to compete against themselves.

This video will give you the whole package on how to develop a quality shooter, thanks to Coach Nurse. With several years of experience, his ability to develop outstanding shooters is incredible.

73 minutes. 2021.