NBA: Top 10 candidates for Coach of the Year in 2019-20

Nick Nurse turned out to be the right man for the job as head coach of the Toronto Raptors last season, getting the team over its postseason hump and winning the franchise’s first NBA title.

Now it gets difficult.

The Raptors lost Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and sharpshooter Danny Green from the first unit and are expected to tumble back into the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.

Nurse led Toronto to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, with a 58-24 record that was actually one win less than they posted the previous season.

In 2017-18, Dwane Casey was named Coach of the Year after being fired following a second-round sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors project to finish with somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 or 46 wins, but if Nurse can drag that team into the low to mid-50s, he would have to become a contender for his own NBA Coach of the Year trophy.

The key will be whether or not Most Improved Player winner Pascal Siakam can handle the pressure of becoming the No. 1 option for the franchise. Kyle Lowry is entering his age-33 season and can’t be expected to assume too much more of the load.

Siakam is expected to move to the 3 in place of Leonard, with Norman Powell likely to get the first shot to replace Green at the 2.

Serge Ibaka should return to the first unit at the 4, but OG Anunoby could emerge in his third season.

Defensively, the Raptors could get big contributions from free-agent Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who can legitimately guard 1 through 5, but who also has a jump shot that is … shall we say … less than aesthetically pleasing (or accurate).

Marc Gasol was acquired at the trade deadline and will be asked to take on a bigger scoring load as well.