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Andrew LopezESPN
Coach Raptors coach Nick Nurse let assistant Adrian Griffin take over the team for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, announcing the team about 90 minutes prior to tip-off.
Griffin thanks Nurse for the opportunity during first name availability.
“I think [Nurse] is an amazing man, “said Griffin. He understands that a coach like me needs some reps to be a head coach. He knows my ambition and wants to see me grow as an individual on and off the court. It’s an amazing gesture from coach. He approached me with that. It just shows what character Coach Nurse has. We have a first class organization for a reason. “
Griffin’s coaching career began just after his nine-year NBA career died in 2008. He coached in Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando and Oklahoma City before joining the Raptors in 2018.
“Just like athletes and basketball players train in the summer, there is nothing compared to game condition,” Griffin said. “You can work out anything you want, but until you get into those games and get the court up and down, it’s the same way. It’s like an assistant coach going over to that chair. You do all the training that you can do that in practice, but it’s good to get those game reps. “
Griffin said he is not trying to “reinvent” the wheel when it comes to coaching.
“I’m just going to try to carry out the plan that Coach Nurse has delivered,” Griffin said. “It’s a great blueprint to follow and I drop the cards where they can.”
Nurse is not the first coach to slip over a chair in the NBA bubble, though he is the first to do so in a game in the regular season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich allowed assistants Becky Hammon, Mitch Johnson and Will Hardy to coach the Spurs in their three scrimmage games last month.
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