Toronto Raptors: Player grades based off preseason expectations
By Zach Wilson
Chris Boucher: B+
Upon tip-off of the 2019-20 season, Chris Boucher was known as the guy who would come in at the end of blow-outs, and jack up a couple of threes, no matter how open he was. With Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol both still on the roster, Boucher wasn’t expected to receive a large portion of minutes.
Besides, his tall-slender frame typically made him a mismatch against the majority of NBA centers, and he usually wasn’t quick enough to keep up with forwards.
Well, the same sort of beliefs still surface my head, but the Raptors would not be where they are, without the contributions of Chris Boucher. Due to the fact that either Ibaka or Gasol was injured for the majority of the season, Boucher saw himself playing a lot of backup center minutes.
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Boucher has appeared in 55 of the Raptors’ 64 games. With his ability to closeout to 3-point shooters, and block shots faster than anyone I’ve ever seen, plus his hustle and ability to come down with rebounds in traffic, despite his weight concerns, Boucher was extremely valuable to Toronto.
He allowed Ibaka or Gasol to rest when only one of them was healthy, and the Raptors survived those minutes well. In fact, in cases like the game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Raptors won the Boucher minutes.
His 3-point shot did drop off a bit, but he still remained a serviceable shooter. After not even expecting him to play, Boucher trounced my expectations for him. However, we still saw in the games where he had to play a large number of minutes, he struggled at times.