In a game where the Toronto Raptors were still missing a significant portion of their rotation, including any and all typical centers (of which the roster has arguably none of anyway), Chris Boucher stepped up with his best performance of the season to date.
“After the Cleveland game, it kind of gave me a perspective of like, ‘Was I really ready to be a No. 1 option?’” Boucher said. “You see guys do that every day—Fred [VanVleet], Pascal [Siakam], Gary [Trent Jr.]. They come in and, you know, it’s a little harder than you expect. So it was a good experience for me and made me realize what I really could do.”
Despite the opposing Philadelphia 76ers entering the game with most of their regular lineups, the Raptors managed to hold firm from tip ’til buzzer, failing to close things out in the final couple minutes as Joel Embiid hammered them in the paint. It was a miraculous effort, with Boucher’s performance guiding them along the way.
“Biggest thing was he was ready to take the challenge,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “Had another little meeting with him before the game about, you know, ‘You’re giving away a couple pounds tonight so just do your best.’ And he was ready to fight them and I thought he hurt them. They had to get Embiid off him because he was hurting them at the other end, equally or more, to be honest.”
The 28-year-old was relentless on the boards, grabbing 19 (tying a career-high for the second time) of the team’s 43 total rebounds. He was also hyper-efficient as a scorer, something he’s not been for the vast majority of this season and a role that most were expecting Gary Trent Jr. to fill in his return. Boucher dropped 28 points on on a red-hot 88.8 true shooting percentage, lighting up Philadelphia from distance, around the rim in the half-court, and on the run in transition.
Only twice has a player posted at least 28 points and 19 rebounds in Raptors history—both were performances from Boucher. The franchise has never had a 30-point, 20-rebound game, although Boucher could have had the latter part if scorekeepers hadn’t ruled what could’ve been his 20th board as a team rebound.
“They didn’t give me my last rebound, huh?” Raptors talent Chris Boucher asked post-game. “That hurts.”
This isn’t, of course, the type of performance the Raptors can expect from Boucher every single night. But if he can manage something even half as potent as this game, and regularly avoid being a negative, then perhaps Toronto’s depth will finally begin to look more like itself—something it’s struggled to do all campaign.
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