Nick

Nurse

Nurse was rumored to be considered by the Suns and Bucks, but he ultimately lands with the 76ers. Nurse won a championship with Toronto in 2019 and is known as an elite defensive coach. We’ll see if a fresh voice helps Philly get past the second round. Nurse is known to play his starters heavy minutes, but since Doc Rivers already did that as well, this shouldn’t have a massive impact on their minutes next season.

After being let go by the Lakers after a disappointing 2021-22 season, Vogel did not coach at all this season. In 11 total seasons as a head coach, he’s won more than 52% of his games, most notably leading the Lakers to the NBA title in 2020. In addition to Vogel, former Raptors coach Nick Nurse and former Suns coach Monty Williams have also been mentioned as possible candidates for the 76ers job. In the case of Williams, it has also been reported that he could choose to sit out next season, as he’s still owed $21 million over three years by the Suns.

The Suns officially relieved Monty Williams of his head coaching duties Saturday night, and this is an attractive job, to say the least. While there are questions to be answered regarding the futures of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, the Suns still have Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to build around. Nurse and Budenholzer have both won NBA titles in the past, while Young’s name has been a hot one within coaching circles. It’s important to note that Haynes reported that the Suns are formulating a list, so Nurse, Budenholzer, and Young should not be viewed as finalists at this point in the process.

Recent rumors made it seem that Toronto and Nurse were headed towards a breakup, and it became official on Friday. Nurse will be a coveted candidate to take over as the head coach for multiple teams, including Houston and Detroit. Ime Udoka is expected to be a serious candidate to take over in Toronto as well.

News of Vogel’s impending dismissal broke shortly after midnight on Monday, and it’s now official. Shams Charania is already reporting in The Athletic that Raptors coach Nick Nurse is “among the [Lakers’] top targets for the position.” He also mentions University of Michigan coach Juwan Howard as a possibility, though it remains to be seen how alluring the job really is to candidates. L.A. finished as a 33-win team this season, and the superstar core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook looks far riskier surrounded by an expensive and aging roster. As for Vogel, the coach of the Lakers’ 2019-20 championship team should soon have plenty of offers to join benches around the league.

The Lakers are expected to fire Vogel at some point in the near future, and once they do the Lakers will begin their search for a head coach. Nurse is expected to be a potential target for the opening, but after signing a contract extension in 2020, the Lakers would need the Raptors’ permission to sign Nurse, and they would likely have to work out a trade. All of this of course is only if Nurse even has any interest in the job, which is not a sure thing by any stretch. Juwan Howard is also a name that has been mentioned as a potential target for the opening.

After Scotiabank Arena was evacuated and the teams were sent back to their respective locker rooms, the Toronto Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire. The Pacers and Raptors will go through a warm-up before resuming play, with Toronto leading by a 66-38 margin with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter.

With just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, game officials called a halt to Saturday’s game due to a speaker fire in the ceiling. Firefighters cleared two sections of Scotiabank Arena while play was still ongoing, and the decision was ultimately made to evacuate. Whether or not the game will be resumed Saturday night has yet to be determined, but we’ll have an update once that information is made available.

Nick Nurse said that this may not be the starting lineup every night, but he does think this may be the team’s best defensive lineup. We’ll see how it works against the Knicks.

The Magic have five players in league protocols, while the Raptors only have Dalano Banton in protocols. This game is one of five the league has cancelled over the next three days.