Can Nick Nurse resuscitate Canadian hopes?
It's a nondescript exhibition game between Team Canada and the New Zealand Tall Blacks, part of the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup, and Nick Nurse is displaying the same roiling emotions as if it were a national TV game taking place under the unforgiving microscope of an NBA season. There are few spectators in the 4,000-seat venue, and even fewer media paying attention. Yet the occasion offers a canvas for an artist -- an on-court chess master such as Nurse -- to dream of possibilities and permutations, just as any NBA Finals matchup would.nike nfl jerseys cheap paypal
Nurse, of course, is fresh from delivering the Toronto Raptors -- and by extension, Canada -- their first NBA title in June. Sure, the plaudits are foisted onto Kawhi Leonard. A veritable United Nations supporting cast that includes Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka also deserves the lion's share of credit. But it's Nurse who had to put the puzzle together, nursing (forgive the pun) disparate parts into a title-winning juggernaut.
But the larger point is that the man who is adored for masterminding a 4-2 Finals defeat of the Golden State Warriors didn't need to be here. Not in a gym on the opposite side of the world. Not at a time when he could be on holiday. But that hasn't stopped him.
Instead of enjoying an interlude heading into training camp to prepare for the grind of the upcoming NBA season, tonight he's pacing up and down the sideline in his baggy team sweats, quibbling with the referee over a perceived missed call.
His flushed visage emits a half-dozen emotions over the course of a possession. There's the mouth agape in disbelief at a no-call, before finally, resignation hits and he snaps his head back and turns away, and almost politely stalks -- if that's possible -- back toward his bench.
Nurse is all-in as he watches his team dismantle the Tall Blacks, applauding and raising his fist at every made basket. He is literally shouting instructions, or encouragement, on each possession, at one point stepping perilously close to the sideline, hands cupped, to warn of a looming Rob Loe screen.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
He's all agitated energy, clapping his hands to no one in particular, chewing gum with gusto, and yelling at guard Kevin Pangos to "Go!" and push the pace. He slaps his hands together in ferocity after New Zealand nabs an offensive rebound, and shakes his head (mouthing, "Oh my god") after an illegal screen is called on Canada.
