'Chris Boucher is going to be Chris Boucher': Boucher on role

Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher discusses the comfort in his role, the final play in the loss against Atlanta and the team's 3-point shooting.

Video Transcript

CHRIS BOUCHER: I was just trying to fight through it. I took a lot of medication and stuff. But I still felt sick, so--

- Can we blame Fred?

[LAUGHTER]

CHRIS BOUCHER: I'm not to blame him, but yeah.

- When you guys look at how you've been in the last eight games or so without Pascal, where do you think you-- what have you guys done well? Where have you kind of struggled?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I think this just gave a lot of guys a chance to show what they could do, but also get in rhythm of the game and all that. I know a lot of more shots, a lot of more situations for different guys. So I think that was good.

And we won a couple of games, too. So it feels good to-- you know, when Pascal comes back, we got a good chance to be a good team. And we could beat a lot of teams. So until Pascal gets back, I think we just got to try to get better and work as a team.

And everybody's trying-- is doing the little things. So that's really good. I think I saw Khem, Malachi, Dalano play well, Juancho-- you know, it goes down the list. So it's really good to see.

- Was it kind of hard to watch at the end there?

CHRIS BOUCHER: Yeah, I mean, obviously, it was not-- it's not a fun place to be when you felt like you worked hard for that game, and you're missing guys and all that. But like I said, it's another mistake that we can't do anymore. And we're going to learn from it.

But it was a really hard game. We played really hard that game. I saw-- it was really-- it could have went both ways. And especially the way that we fought through the whole game, I think it was special.

- [INAUDIBLE]?

- Sorry, go ahead.

- Other guys are missing time and stuff, but no matter what, it seems like you're a constant off the bench. Is that just you feel comfortable in that spot, you know when your minutes are going to come? You know how-- you've accepted that role, and the way that you know you have to act when you come in at whatever that mark is in the first quarter?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I mean, I just know myself more as a player now, I think, just what I could do. And bringing that energy is something that I know that I have to bring every game. So playing with [? a lot of ?] energy, a lot of things will get done for you.

So I just try to play the same way, bring the same energy every time. And just knowing what my role is, that makes it a lot easier, too.

- Is that something like-- I used to ask, at least, would you feel more comfortable starting or coming off the bench? Now, it's just like, I'm great in my role, and I'm going to keep doing that?

CHRIS BOUCHER: Chris Boucher going to be Chris Boucher wherever. It doesn't matter to me. I'm just playing my game.

Like I said last year, I had a good one in Tampa, have a good defensive one. Now, I'm trying to bring both of them together. And I'm trying my best to do that.

- When your team is struggling from behind the 3-point line, like, what do you see? The last three or four games, I think it's, like, 25%. Do you see the quality of looks changing? Do you just kind of see it's-- sometimes people are making shots, sometimes they don't go in?

CHRIS BOUCHER: Yeah, it takes-- basketball is sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't go in. So you just got to live with that. I think we got great shooters. We got great guys that can make plays.

And sometimes it just goes the wrong way. And you just got to live with those ones. But I think we're going to have more games where it goes in than it doesn't.

And we showed it [? wasn't ?] Pascal. And it could still be like that if we are, like I said, just wait for the ball to go in, honestly.

- And for you personally, what goes into you having a good shooting night, particularly from the 3-point line? Is it ball movement? Is it you get to the spots quickly? What are some of the variables you know of?

CHRIS BOUCHER: Usually, getting the easy ones at first usually gets me going. You know, I get a putback or I get a layup first. Then you get a little bit of feeling. And obviously, when you get an open 3, that also helps.

But yeah, I think when you see one go in, usually it helps me out a lot. I think it's a lot like that with a lot of players. And when you take a bad shot first, [? in ?] your first shot of the game, usually that deteriorates the whole game after that.