It would have been a wonderful narrative in this magical Toronto Raptors season: the journey of head coach Nick Nurse, the relative unknown NBA assistant coach replacing his iconic former boss.
Nurse’s journey of self-discovery and revelation — moving a seat or two over to the left on the bench, becoming the man in charge of a veteran, very good team with legitimate championship aspirations even before the season began — would have been legendary tale and an emotional one and would have been a joy to watch unfold.
Trouble is, as the 51-year-old basketball lifer took control of an NBA team for the first time in nearly three decades of coaching all over the world, the story became much simpler, much less dramatic, much less heroic.