Toronto Raptors: 3 reasons why the Raps could complete the unlikely 3-0 series comeback vs. 76ers
Nick Nurse (with depth) vs. Doc Rivers (without depth)
During the early portion of his coaching career, Doc Rivers was known as more of a star-whisperer as he won a championship with the Boston Celtics. Then, over the course of the last decade, the narrative around Rivers has changed drastically.
Rivers is now known as somewhat of a coach that fails on the big stage, especially in the playoffs.
"[via SI.com] No coach in recent NBA history has been more prone to blowing big leads than Doc Rivers. Over the last two seasons, five of the eight biggest blown leads in playoff games belong to Doc. After the LA Clippers collapsed in the bubble, Rivers became the only coach in NBA history with three different blown 3-1 leads."
dark. Next. Brooklyn Nets: Serving up the Nets’ blame pie after a disastrous season
Heading into crucial playoff games, I’m not sure anyone would feel comfortable with Rivers leading the way. Plus, throw in the schematic adjustments that Nick Nurse has done in this series alone (on top of the success he’s already experienced through his young career, which includes a championship) and you can see why Nurse could be the ultimate game-changer in the final two games of this series.