The Bucks have one of the best young cores in the NBA, but their defense has been spotty. To help shore things up, Milwaukee acquired veteran point guard Scottie Barnes from Toronto for a second-round pick and cash considerations. Nurse sees his new player’s defensive skills being an asset to his squad
“Raptors’ Nick Nurse on Scottie Barnes wanting to guard Khris Middleton” is a news article that talks about the Raptors’ coach, Nick Nurse, saying that he’s been trying to get his players to play defense against Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton. Read more in detail here: khris middleton.
The Toronto Raptors were notified only 30 minutes before their game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would not be playing.
Coach Nick Nurse of the Raptors, on the other hand, said it didn’t seem to bother them too much.
Nurse stated after their 97-93 victory, “I believe I was very impartial on it.” “For us, it’s like, we have to go out there and play whomever is out there.” You’ll have to go through a slew of protective measures. We need to discuss about who we anticipate they’ll start with and how our coverages will alter, among other things. You don’t have time to be offended or joyful; you need to go to work and attempt to figure it out.”
One voice broke in to make a proclamation regarding the defensive system as the Raptors considered what improvements they needed make to their approach.
“Scottie (Barnes) took a step forward and said, ‘I’m going to protect (Khris Middleton),’ and he meant it. So let’s get started,’ Nurse remarked. “So we did, and I felt he did a terrific job on him,” says the author. “I forced him to work.”
Barnes did just that, putting in a tremendous amount of work on the two-time All-Star. He got up in Middleton’s grill whenever he could, physically tormenting him and pushing him into a slew of difficult shots. Despite his 22 points, Middleton ended with a terrible 49.5 true shooting percentage and never seemed at ease.
Barnes isn’t the first person to take up a challenging task. Barnes has faced up against the likes of Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum, and although he still has a long way to go to become a genuinely outstanding defender in the NBA (as he was rumored to be coming out of college), he’s showing glimpses of what he can be on a regular basis.
“This year, he’s (expressed a wish to take on certain duties).” “It’s great to see you again,” Nurse said. “When we’ve gone into games, he’s done it a few times.” That’s the attitude we need him to have because I believe there will be a person for him to defend at the guard or forward every night who will be a high point scorer and a high usage guy, and that’s the way for him to enter the game. It’s something he can do every night to assist us and himself.”
Plus, in games like the one against the Bucks, Barnes sometimes manages to put on a near-perfect performance. He had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a blocked shot in the game.
Nurse observed of the whole defense, “Very few schematic errors tonight.” “There were a few of fairly huge ones, but there were a lot of players defending quite hard on that.”
Furthermore, Barnes did not allow his offensive to fall off a cliff. On that end of the floor, he remained focused, draining some tough shots in the post, making a deliberate attempt to take advantage of the space defenders gave him at the arc (3-of-6 from distance), and even knocking down a one-footed fallaway à la Dirk Nowitzki.
Barnes’ confidence as a rookie, as well as the shear amount of skill he has to maximize on that confidence on both sides of the ball, is unrivaled. He’s already shaping up to be one of the league’s most dangerous young players.
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