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Andrew LopezESPN
For Sergio Scariolo, this was another game.
The Toronto Raptors assistant coach moved into the head coach’s chair, leading the team to a 122-111 win over the Houston Rockets in Tampa Bay on Friday night. The victory came despite Toronto not having star Pascal Siakam, head coach Nick Nurse and five other Raptors assistants due to health and safety protocols.
But even with Toronto for another Chris Finch assistant, who earlier this week became the head coach in Minnesota, the Raptors still had a pretty experienced man on the bench to handle the job.
Scariolo has 25 years of experience as a coach abroad and since 2009 he has been the head coach of the Spanish team, with which he won the FIBA Eurobasket tournament three times (2009, 2011 and 2015) and the FIBA World Cup (2019). He also coached Spain with a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.
So no, that wasn’t his first reel.
In fact, Scariolo coached last week while coaching Spain for the Eurobasket qualifiers in Poland on 19 and 21 February. Spain won both matches.
“It’s a 3-0 week,” Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said.
Originally in quarantine this week after returning from Poland, Scariolo was available to rejoin the team on Friday, just as safety and health protocols removed the coaching staff. Scariolo said he returned from Poland on Monday and spent the rest of the week away from the Raptors. He drove to Miami, where the Raptors played Wednesday, but still remained separate from the team; he returned to Tampa in the same car the day after the game.
Scariolo said the team began launching a plan Thursday, with the Raptors reassigning tasks to coaches who could still be with the team on Friday morning. The team also had to alter their pre-game routine because rehearsals were not returning in time, so the Raptors had to do a joint film session before reaching the ground without going through it.
“So I was reacting every time to something different, but at the end of the day, we got the W, so who cares,” Scariolo said.
Scariolo said he had a video call with Nurse before the match and credited Nurse’s philosophy and teamwork he has instilled in the coaching staff to help make the transition as smooth as possible. He also credited his own experience as a head coach.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel too much of a difference with the 1,500 games I’ve coached before,” Scariolo said. “I felt like we were ready to get into the game because everyone made their contribution and that’s what is needed in a team sport like basketball.”
Lowry and goalkeeper Fred VanVleet tried to minimize the situation to the maximum, but Lowry made sure to catch the ball after the bell and present it to Scariolo after the game. Scariolo said basketball will go alongside other balls that players have given him after medals or other championships throughout his career.
VanVleet said the team tried to keep things the same to the maximum so as not to try to over-correct something they didn’t need to correct.
“I think I did it pretty pretty soon once they made the decision that obviously those coaches would be out. I really didn’t want to react too much,” VanVleet said. “I think it’s one of those things where you probably put a little too much value into it, but the game doesn’t change.
“The way we play doesn’t change. The way we play doesn’t change. So just having a different voice is obviously why you have a strong technical team for situations like this. Viously, obviously, Sergio has been a great coach for a long time. He’s been doing it at a high level, so connecting it was pretty easy to do. “
The Raptors did not disclose the names of the coaches who missed the game, but Jim Sann, Jamaal Magloire and Mark Tyndale were seen along the Raptors bench and received shouts from VanVleet and Lowry after the game.
Scariolo said he does not know how long he will serve as acting coach, adding that the team will continue to operate on the fly until he learns more. Although she had spoken to the nurse before the game, she had not spoken to him before meeting with reporters after the game. There were more important issues to consider first.
“I will make sure they give me the first test, this is my first test and I don’t want to make any mistakes right now,” he said. “We can’t afford it. Then, for sure, we’ll talk.”