TORONTO – Enjoying poorly and clearly depressing, Chris Boucher discovered himself as an afterthought in coach Nick Nurse’s rotation simply 20 video games into this NBA season.
So the 28-year-old from Montreal threw himself into watching video, each the nice highlights and the unhealthy. The unhealthy was enlightening.
“Watching the video games once I play unhealthy, (and saying) “Present me the rationale why I’m out, why I’m not enjoying,” Boucher mentioned after Sunday evening’s win over Washington.
“Generally I’m like, ‘Why am I not enjoying?’ and then you definately watch the clip and also you’re like ‘That’s why.’ So, I’m attempting to repair the explanations for why I’m not on the ground as a result of I can assist this workforce the way in which I’m enjoying.”
Boucher had developed right into a key participant on the Raptors roster, and anticipated to proceed that trajectory this season. However his three-point capturing has been dreadful, dropping from 38.3 per cent final season to 18.5 this yr.
Sunday’s 14-point efficiency in Toronto’s 102-90 win over Washington was his finest sport this season, and his power off the bench was a part of a terrific evening by the second stringers.
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He missed the lone three-point try he took, as an alternative specializing in what he knew he does properly, together with a few cuts to the basket for dunks off sensible passes from rookie Dalano Banton.
“I can shoot however I’m not exhibiting it proper now,” Boucher mentioned. “I had a few in-and-outs … it’s going to fall finally but when I’m not searching for it and simply taking it when it comes, it’s lots higher. I can do a variety of completely different stuff. I can set display screen and roll, minimize, slip display screen. There’s a variety of stuff I can do (that) I type of forgot about attempting to determine the place my three was.”
Boucher mentioned he’s been learning movie twice a day. He additionally meditated earlier than Sunday evening’s sport. He practises meditation often, however hadn’t completed it proper earlier than taking the ground. Raptors’ athletic coach Ray Chow urged it.
“I simply have to be the Chris that I’ve at all times been and for that I type of wanted to get all of the stuff out of my head earlier than the sport,” he mentioned. “Ray advised me he felt like once I was enjoying there’s a lot happening in my thoughts. So, gave me a little bit meditation, and that basically helped out, going into the sport flowing, and realizing that I’m capable of do sure stuff and be assured with it.”
Boucher signed a two-year contract extension within the 2020 low season value US$13.5 million, the richest contract in NBA historical past for a Canadian who went undrafted.
Pascal Siakam, who had 31 factors on Sunday in his finest sport this season, praised the play of Boucher and the remainder of the bench.
“It was big, and actually, as a lot as we get on him, we gotta give him credit score after we do properly,” Siakam mentioned. “Shout out to all of them. They got here in able to play, execute the sport plan, play onerous. And so they gave us an enormous enhance on the market, and we’d like that from them.
“I hope that we’ll take that and construct on it and proceed to try this, and I believe that we are able to. Simply them realizing that you just’re going to get a chance, you’ve received to come back in, and people minutes that you’ve, it’s a must to play them prefer it’s your final, it’s a must to go on the market and provides it every little thing you have got, and credit score to them, they did that (Sunday).”
The Raptors (11-13) host the struggling Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Wednesday within the fifth sport of this season-high seven-game homestand. On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies demolished the Thunder 152-79, shattering the NBA document for the biggest margin of victory.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Dec. 6, 2021.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
