Sixers hire Nick Nurse + NBA Finals Preview

The Sixer Sense Podcast is back following the news of the Sixers hiring their next head coach, Nick Nurse. Nurse was most recently head coach of the Toronto Raptors and led them to the 2019 NBA Championship over the Golden State Warriors. He was also the NBA Coach of the Year the following season in 2020.

Lucas Johnson and Jonathan Geib give their initial reactions to the hiring of Nurse. Do they think he is the right coach to help get this franchise over the hump to advance to a Conference Finals? Some of the known pros about Nurse are his experience coaching stars in Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and Kyle Lowry, as well as his player development skills with younger players. His coaching resume will give him credibility with Joel Embiid and James Harden and his developmental skills should help Tyrese Maxey reach his next level.

The most notable cons of Nurse are that he can burn out his players with a short bench and also that he can rub certain players the wrong way. Fred VanVleet, Nurse’s former point guard in Toronto, spoke to that in a recent interview implying that the Sixers players are going to work harder than they ever had before. Do Embiid and Harden have the discipline and motivation to grind every day to reach their goals? We will certainly find out because Nurse will push them.

The 2023 NBA Finals are set with a matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat. Lucas and Jonathan give a Finals preview and they surprisingly differ in who they think will win the series. Will Jimmy Butler be able to help the Heat complete their miracle run to an NBA Championship as an 8-seed? Or will the clock strike midnight on Cinderella with Nikola Jokic proving he is the best big man in the league? Give the podcast a listen to find out!

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