Alright, let’s talk about this 76ers coach thing. You know, the fella who’s supposed to make our boys win. They got this new coach, see? Heard they fired that old fella, Doc somethin’-somethin’. Always seemed like a nice enough man, but I guess nice ain’t gonna win ya no championships, huh?
So, they went and got this other guy, Nick Nurse. Sounds like a good, strong name, the kinda name that can whip these young fellas into shape. They say he coached somewhere else before, up in Canada with them Toronto Raptors. Guess they didn’t want him no more, kicked him to the curb like an old shoe. That’s how things go sometimes, ain’t it? One minute you’re the king of the castle, the next you’re out lookin’ for a new outhouse.
- They been lookin’ for a coach for a while now, a couple of weeks they say. Don’t know why it takes so long, seems like they coulda just asked me, I woulda told ’em who to hire!
- Heard this Nick Nurse fella coached in some minor league too, before he went up to the big leagues. Iowa somethin’ and Rio Grande somethin’-somethin’. Guess he worked his way up, like a good farmhand plowin’ the fields until he gets his own farm.
They got that big fella, Joel Embid, plays real good, real strong. Heard he won some kinda prize, MVP they called it. Means he’s the best, I reckon. But even the best need a good boss, someone to tell ‘em what to do. That’s what a coach does, see? He’s like the foreman on the farm, tells everyone where to go and what to do, makes sure they ain’t sleepin’ on the job.
Now, this Nick Nurse, he’s gotta take this team, this team with the fancy players, and make ‘em winners. They won a lot of games last year, they say, 54 games or somethin’. That’s a whole lot of games, more than the chickens I got on my farm, I tell ya. But it ain’t enough, see? They gotta win the big one, the championship. That’s what everyone wants, the shiny trophy, the bragging rights.
It ain’t gonna be easy, though. This ain’t no chicken coop, this is the NBA. These other teams, they got good players too, and they got good coaches. And they all want the same thing, that championship trophy. It’s like everyone in town wantin’ the last piece of apple pie at the church social. Gotta be quick and gotta be tough.
So, what’s this Nick Nurse gotta do? Well, first off, he’s gotta get them boys listenin’ to him. He’s gotta be the boss, gotta be the leader. He can’t be lettin’ them young fellas run wild, he’s gotta keep ‘em in line, like a good shepherd with his sheep. And he’s gotta make ’em play together, like a well-oiled machine, they say. Not a bunch of chickens runnin’ around with their heads cut off.
He’s gotta figure out how to use that big fella, Embid. He’s the star, see? But even stars need help. Can’t have one horse pullin’ the whole wagon, gotta have the whole team workin’ together. And he’s gotta make sure they ain’t gettin’ tired, gotta keep ‘em healthy and strong, like a good farmer keeps his crops watered and fed.
This whole “massive off-season” thing they talk about, that’s just fancy talk for “we changed some stuff around.” They got a new coach, that’s a big change. And they probably got some new players too, I reckon. Gotta get all them new pieces workin’ together, that’s the hard part. Like tryin’ to teach a new dog old tricks, ain’t easy.
It’s gonna be interesting to watch, I tell ya. Gonna be seein’ if this Nick Nurse fella is the real deal, if he can take this team to the top. It’s like plantin’ seeds in the spring, ya never know what you’re gonna get until harvest time. But if he does it, if he wins it all, they’ll be singin’ his praises from here to the next county. And if he don’t, well, they’ll probably just go and find themselves another coach, that’s the way it goes in the big city, ain’t it?
They hired him on June 1st, 2023. Guess they figured startin’ early was a good idea. Gets them boys time to learn, I reckon. Just like plantin’ early gets ya a better harvest. Hope this fella knows what he’s doin’, for the sake of them boys and for the sake of the city. Folks ‘round here love their basketball, that’s for sure.
