Raptors' coach Nurse open to experimenting with starting lineup options
Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is keeping his options open when it comes to the team’s starting lineup this season.
Sure, there’s a likely group that will hit the floor next Wednesday when the team’s season opens up against the Cleveland Cavaliers, barring a setback.
If everyone’s good to go a week today, Toronto will be trotting out Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, O.G. Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam to tip off on October 19 at Scotiabank Arena.
“They’re probably clearly the five best players,” Nurse told reporters Tuesday, to no real surprise.
But that’s probably — or almost certainly — not how the Raptors starting lineup is going to look for all 82 games, or even how the unit will look on a game-to-game basis.
Nurse has never been a coach to stick with something just for the sake of continuity, and he’ll have to manage his stars’ rest accordingly to make sure their bodies are in suitable condition for a hopeful playoff berth.
But on a more matchup-based level, Nurse admits that having no player taller than 6-foot-9 in his starting lineup won’t always work against the game’s premier centres.
“It’s an uphill battle that continues to rage on… do we really want Scottie, Pascal, or O.G. guarding a really good big five to start the game? I don’t think we probably do,” Nurse added. “So we’re gonna have to make some adjustments to that. Or it’s just going to be three minutes and we’re sending in a guy [to replace someone in the starting lineup.”
More so than last season, the Raptors have options
Seven-foot-one rookie Christian Koloko, new signing Otto Porter Jr., third-year forward Precious Achiuwa, or longtime team veteran Chris Boucher, there’s no shortage of players to throw in for a spot start on any given night.
And then, of course, there’s always the potential for injury.
Last year, Barnes was the only Raptor to start more than 70 of the team’s games 82 regular season games, appearing in 74 contests in his rookie year.
But whoever’s coming into the rotation, Toronto seems to be up for the challenge.
“I think the best thing about us three as a group is we come in and we play at a high level, we play with a lot of energy but we’re all different players,” said Thad Young, who is, ironically, Toronto’s oldest player at age 34. “Precious [Achiuwa], he’ll be able to be more athletic and put the ball on the floor and do a lot of different things; Chris [Boucher] is the energy guy, he’s going to crash the glass, he’ll offensive rebound, he’ll be able to knock down threes and I’m the piece that can kinda bring everything together.”
Toronto plays its final preseason game of the year this Friday, where they take on the Boston Celtics at Montreal’s Bell Centre.