Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors are an absolutely disjointed team at the moment. The Raptors are the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they have lost six straight games and turned themselves into a “get-right” game for the rest of the league. Pascal Siakam is doing everything he can, but that isn’t enough.
Monday night’s loss against the Philadelphia 76ers illustrated just how bad things are with Toronto right now. The defense played well and limited Joel Embiid, but they couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat. Fred VanVleet was on fire against the Kings and Nets but stunk on ice against Philly.
The Raptors need to make more macro changes at the roster level in order to plug holes and give this team a facelift, but that shouldn’t stop Nick Nurse from making some micro changes to their lineup that leave them in a better position to take some of the pressure off Siakam.
The Raptors will be much better off in the next few weeks if they can make these tweaks to the roster. The Raptors need a big trade, multiple rotation tweaks, and some philosophical changes that are long overdue. Implementing those changes could reverse the team’s current trajectory.
The perfect 4-point plan to rescue the Toronto Raptors.
1. Start Chris Boucher at center until Precious Achiuwa returns
The Raptors have largely used Christian Koloko as the team’s starting center, though they have experimented with Thad Young in small-ball lineups and Siakam in the paint against Embiid and Philadelphia. Boucher hasn’t started yet, but this could be worth exploiting.
Boucher has been rooted to the bench this season, as Nurse wants his energy and interior finishing to help the second unit. However, if Nurse is incapable of finding a way to start Boucher, stagger his minutes, and put him on the floor regularly, that’s a serious concern.
Chris Boucher can give the Toronto Raptors a spark.
Boucher has averaged 11.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, making his three-year contract from the offseason look like a relative bargain. Keeping his as an energy bench big is likely the best role for him long-term, but current circumstances may end up forcing a change.
Boucher only has 23 starts to his name in his career, but he put up some impressive numbers as a starter in the Tampa bubble that could be forced out of him. Achiuwa would be a more natural fit for the center spot, but Boucher could provide a nice facsimile until Achiuwa heals up.