Montrealer Boucher missing hometown Raptors' preseason finale

Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher is not making the trip to Montreal after all.

At Thursday’s practice, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse revealed that Boucher is dealing with a non-COVID illness, preventing him from travelling back to Quebec with the team.

Boucher was already listed as out for Friday’s preseason finale, taking place at the Bell Centre, but has been officially downgraded to being unable to make the trip.

Boucher was born in St. Lucia but spent much of his childhood in Montreal.

Before a post-secondary career that saw him play at New Mexico Junior College, Northwest College, and the University of Oregon, Boucher attended Damase Boulanger for his high school in Alma, which is a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Quebec City.

Boucher received a rousing ovation during a Raptors preseason visit to the city in 2018.

“I feel bad that Chris isn’t making this great homecoming, you know? That would have been, I think a big charge in the arena, as it was last time,” Nurse added.

Boucher averaged 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks last season while coming off the bench in 71 of his 80 games.

He signed a three-year contract extension with the Raptors this summer, worth $35 million over the course of the contract.

Boucher was previously in Montreal earlier this offseason to host a free basketball tournament in the city, an eight-team tournament dubbed the “QC challenge.”

But Montreal won’t be without their representation in the game, with fellow Raptors forward having been born in the city.

“It’s always a big deal when we hit any of these cities and we’ve been to Montreal before got tremendous reception,” Nurse said.

Resale ticket prices for tomorrow’s game have been through the roof, with the cheapest available tickets currently listed at $215 on Ticketmaster.

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