Chris Boucher’s best night wasn’t enough for the Raptors against the Bulls
Boucher #Boucher
All the Raptors needed to do was junk up the game, make a ton of shots, get career nights out of a couple of players and catch the Bulls on an off-night.
It was a bit too much to ask.
An eight-man band reduced to the league minimum through injury, illness and suspension needed a perfect mix of extraordinary play and good fortune and got neither in a 122-113 loss to Chicago on Thursday night.
It was a costly defeat as Toronto fell three games behind the Bulls in the race for the final spot in the newfangled play-in tournament for the NBA playoffs, but it should come as no surprise.
“I mean it’s unfortunate, the schedule and the injuries and suspensions and COVID and all that stuff is not great timing for this game of this magnitude,” coach Nick Nurse said.
The Raptors were game and played hard — Chris Boucher had the best night of his career with 38 points and 19 rebounds — but it was just not good enough.
“He was really good rebounding and it seemed like anytime we drove it deep he was there to collect the miss and tip it back in,” Nurse said. “(A) big night for him really. Really, really proud of him, happy for him, and this is a good time. He’s getting to start now and he’s getting big minutes and at least tonight he’s taken advantage of it for sure.”
The Raptors played much better than the cave-in they had against the Lakers earlier this week, but were just outmatched most of the night.
Pascal Siakam and Boucher combined for 65 points and 27 rebounds, but teammates Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby couldn’t come up with exceptional nights to help.
The Raptors were without DeAndre’ Bembry along with Fred VanVleet, suspended for leaving the bench area during Tuesday’s minor scuffle with the Lakers, reducing them to eight available players.
The NBA’s rule is unequivocal: Any player leaving the immediate area of the bench to join an altercation, however minor it may be, faces a suspension. It is not subjective and does not take into effect the intent and everyone in the league knows it. Some teams go as far as designating specific assistant coaches to hold players back; the Raptors make it a staff-wide responsibility.
“I’m supposed to get in there and put my life on the line, and the assistants are supposed to seal off (the bench) and make sure that none of our players enter the (fray),” Nurse said when asked about the duties of de-escalation on Tuesday night.
VanVleet will have to serve his suspension in the first game for which he is medically able to play. He missed his third game Thursday with a left hip flexor strain, and could be healthy in time to sit out a game Saturday in Cleveland.
THREE POINTERS
“It’s just a matter of getting him through the (COVID-19) testing and the protocols,” Nurse said before Thursday’s game. “As soon as he does that, we get him in and go to work and see what we can each him before a game comes, so he can go out there and function a little bit.”
Gillespie averaged 10.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 15 games with the G League Memphis Hustle this season.
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“I can barely keep track of who we’re supposed to be playing here, a couple games ahead,” he said before Thursday’s game. “That’s about it.”
Unless the Raptors come up with some dramatic turnaround in their own fortunes, it really doesn’t matter what other teams do or who they play.
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