Raptors: 3 fatal mistakes Nick Nurse made in humbling Clippers loss
By Mike Luciano
2. Not relying on Chris Boucher.
After signing a three-year contract in free agency that affirmed Boucher as one of the key components of this Raptors team in the immediate and long-term future, Toronto has handled him very bizarrely. Despite serving as the team’s Sixth Man early in the season, he’s ended up back in the doghouse.
Boucher was given a DNP-CD in the victory against Cleveland, and he played in nine uneventful minutes without attempting a shot against Los Angeles. With precious Achiwua coming back soon, Boucher may be excommunicated entirely from the rotation.
The Toronto Raptors must use Chris Boucher.
Boucher may not be the perfect solution to all of the problems that the Raptors are currently trying to work through, but it seems odd that they would hold him up as a paragon of success and the benefits of their developmental system and then bench him amid a playoff push.
While he hasn’t been at his best lately, it’s foolish to assume that he was performing so poorly it was costing Toronto games. Perhaps the Clippers wouldn’t have had whatever they wanted in the paint if the Raptors utilized Boucher in a more effective role on Tuesday night.