Nick Nurse was brought into turn this Philadelphia team into champions. Now is his chance to make it happen with this star-studded group.
Everyone talks about the players, how they can win this, or what can be done to make this team better. But no one really talks about the head coach unless he’s on the hot seat or winning games.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a head coach in Nick Nurse, who will need to learn to navigate not only the usage of this roster but also the bombardment of questions they’ll receive throughout the season. When Nurse took the job back in 2023, he knew he would have to deal with the antics of the fans and questions of how to get this team to the next level. But now, it’s going to be much harder knowing he has five star players that have to all get the ball at some point.
Nurse is well-equipped for this kind of thing, as he is a winning coach who has won Coach of the Year and is an NBA Championship coach in his own right. While in Toronto, Nurse had to deal with Kawhi Leonard and build a team that could compete for a championship, and he did just that.
In 2019, the Raptors were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, and that was a huge part of them going to win a title. With this 76ers team, it’s going to be a bit different. Nurse is going to have one of the best offenses, and the defense may be good, but it’s going to be hard to see it be on the level of that Raptors team.
So that means Nurse is going to have to get creative and plan to outscore every team they come across. Now that sounds very simple, but it’s harder than most think. This requires elite execution, and that’s where someone like LeBron James comes in. Nurse will have some innovative ideas in terms of how to get certain players the ball and how to utilize certain matchups. Meanwhile, James is going to help, as he will be the eyes on the court assessing the floor and letting Nurse know what he sees out there.
When you have high-usage players on your team, many could consider it a bad thing, but it's actually the opposite. It gives you more range in getting your players the ball in their favorite spot. It means teams can’t focus on just one player, so you can use that to your advantage and get someone like Tyrese Maxey or even VJ Edgecombe to get the ball.
There’s going to come a time when Nurse will have to draw up the play, and it’s going to be for a game-winning shot. Nurse has enough experience to know who has the hot hand and is best suited for the situation. The 76ers will be glad to have Nurse, as he will be the captain that navigates the ship through high waters to an NBA title.
