The Toronto Raptors falling to the Chicago Bulls last night by a 122-113 scoreline was expected, as the Raptors were down to just eight healthy players due to injuries, COVID-19 protocols, and suspensions. The only player who earned his game check last night was big man Chris Boucher, who had the best game of his young career.
Boucher started alongside Pascal Siakam in the frontcourt, and the skinny 6-8 big was not intimidated by the presence of an All-Star in Nikola Vucevic. Boucher put together the finest night of his career and one of the most statistically impressive games in Raptors history.
Boucher set a new career-high in points in a game with 38 and rebounds in a game with 19. Even against a Bulls team that made some major improvements, Boucher helped craft what was arguably the best single-game performance by a Raptors player this season.
Boucher, always known for his candor in interviews, claimed that he was getting “bullied” in the post of late and that he “had enough of that.” After putting up a record-setting combination of numbers, it’s safe to say that Boucher put the whole league on notice last night.
Chris Boucher is so low key it can be easy to overlook how honest an interview he is. “I’ve been getting bullied ... and I’ve had enough of that” he said after his 38-19 career night. Not shy to call himself out.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 9, 2021
Toronto Raptors: Chris Boucher shut up the haters
Boucher is the only player in Raptors history to record both 38 points and 19 rebounds in a game. He is the third player to his 35 points and 15 rebounds in the same game, joining Vince Carter and Chris Bosh, who achieved the feat three times.
Boucher, who came into last night’s game averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest before his outburst, has been an unusual case study. His 200-pound frame and excellent 3-point shot make him more at home on the wing to some, but his ability to block shots and grab rebounds has forced him into a power forward role on the low block.
Boucher’s size hasn’t made him the most natural center in the world, but he appears to have chalked up his recent stretch of poor play to desire and not wanting it enough. He appears to have found the match deep inside himself, lit it, and let the fire burn up his guts and boil his blood.
That mean streak served him well against Vucevic, and it could set the tone for the rest of the year.
The Raptors are playing for pride, if nothing else, at the end of this cursed season. At least Boucher is continuing to prove he is one of the most interesting bench players in the league with last night’s performance.