3 Studs and 4 Duds from Raptors' horrifying loss to Cavaliers on Opening Night
Chris Boucher was a stud
With injuries continuing to strike the Raptors during the preseason, the biggest bright spot was the play of Chris Boucher. The longest-tenured Raptors player had a rought year last season before going down with a knee injury, and it was unclear which version of Boucher the Raptors would get this season.
They are apparently getting the version who is extremely confident shooting from the perimeter. Boucher translated a hot preseason into a scorching season opener, shooting 4-for-5 from deep (80 percent). The rest of the team shot just 8-for-26 (30.7 percent). He had one of the team's few blocks but was largely an open door defensively, powerless to stop the bigs of the Cavaliers, but on offense he was confident and let it rip when he caught a pass.
He drew six free-throws in addition to his long-range shooting, also an unusual feat for Boucher, and scored 18 points overall; the last time he scored as many points was in April of 2023, a full 18 months ago. The Raptors can use his floor-spacing if he can continue to shoot confidently from outside.
Bruno Fernando was a dud
While Boucher was strong offensively, he was unable to properly defend the paint; unfortunately, the Raptors' only other option at center from Bruno Fernando, and he wasn't able to do anything on any end of the court.
That's slightly uncharitable; Fernando ended up with six points and seven rebounds. Yet what the Raptors needed was someone who could body up to the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside, and Fernando was again and again out of position and absolutely no help in rotation. To make matters worse, after allowing the Cavs to score, Fernando committed a careless violation not properly inbounding the ball and gave Cleveland another possession.
The Raptors kept Fernando to have a veteran option at center behind Jakob Poeltl; with Kelly Olynyk out he was a part of the rotation. The Cavs are a formidable team to face in the paint, but neither in the preseason nor on opening night did Fernando look worthy of that roster spot.