The Raptors are building a world-class practice facility from scratch in a hotel ballroom and that’s fine with coach Nick Nurse.
At least it means he won’t have to take down some badminton nets so his team can get its work in every day.
In his first coaching job in the basketball backwater of Derby, England, Nurse’s team could only practise two evenings a week, after the local badminton club ceded control of the court at 7 p.m. This new setup — in a Tampa hotel space normally reserved for such matters as wedding receptions and convention gatherings — will be a relative dream for Nurse and the Raptors.