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What Chris Boucher has learned from teammate Precious Achiuwa

Raptors forward Chris Boucher has observed and learned a lot from Precious Achiuwa’s efforts and work ethic on and off the court. He spoke about Achiuwa’s maturity and overall contributions after Toronto’s game against the Mavericks.

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Video Transcript

- Hi, Chris. Thanks for joining us tonight. We have a couple of questions for you here. We'll start-- I guess, we'll start tonight with French questions. So we'll start with Mike.

- [SPEAKING FRENCH]

CHRIS BOUCHER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]

- [SPEAKING FRENCH]

CHRIS BOUCHER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]

- [SPEAKING FRENCH]

CHRIS BOUCHER: Awesome.

- Thanks Mike. And I'll go to English questions for you here, Chris. We'll go to Josh.

Hey, Chris. You guys are using a tight seven-- six-man rotation the last couple of games here. How sustainable do you think that is, and are you guys feeling the toll of that late in these games?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I think we all ready to play. Obviously, you know, if we could play more players-- like I said, it's not my decision. I'll go there and play. I think we all do the same when we-- all down the line. Like I said, it's-- we ain't playing bad basketball. Like I said, we're close with all these teams. And we could have won a lot of those games. And, you know, it could have went both ways this game. Miami could have went both ways.

So, you know, for me it's just continuing to figure it out. You know, how to help the team. I missed a couple of good shots that, you know, I wish I could get back and make. And I think we all-- you know, all figuring out what we could do to help this team. And, you know, some tough shots at any point, but I think it could have went both ways. And if we win this game then, you know, it's a totally different conversation we're having.

- As a young team, what are you guys able to take away from, especially, the late game reps against these really good teams?

CHRIS BOUCHER: To play a full game, you know. Like those missed free throws, or those close outs that we didn't get, or those-- our offensive rebounds that they got, you know. When you start counting all of them together, you realize, OK, well, you know, we could have won this game.

So, you know, we're a young team. We do-- we do-- are getting better every time. And I think, you know, we finding the chemistry and the role. And that's the most important thing is to learn. Like I said, we're going to get back on track. And, you know, obviously, you know, it still hurts to lose those games [INAUDIBLE] against good team, but I think we're right there.

- Thanks, Chris. Safe flight, man.

- Thanks, Josh. And next we'll go to Oren.

- Hey, Chris. I wanted to ask you about Precious Achiuwa. And, kind of, what have you learned about him as a defensive player, specifically? Like when you two are out there together, and you're kind of manning the back line with him, just how much trust do you have in his ability to contest shots and play all the different schemes? And, yeah, what have you learned about him?

CHRIS BOUCHER: Oh, I mean, like I said, he works so hard. And there's a lot of things that we don't see. Like, obviously, you see the rebounds and stuff. But like all the helps that he does in the backside, all the-- you know, he talks and all that. So it makes it a lot easier for a guy like me, you know. If I see somebody driving I know that Precious is behind, so I can help a lot more.

And there's the one thing-- there's one thing that, you know, Precious does well is that he doesn't really take plays off. You know, obviously, sometimes, you know, you're a step late. And that happens. It's the NBA. A lot of guys are good. But you can see that he makes the effort every time. And, you know, we need somebody like that. And, you know, now that we could switch a little bit more, and all that, he's able to guard those guards too. So it definitely makes it a lot easier with a guy like that.

- And with the communication that you mentioned, the talking, is that at all rare for someone as young as him and someone so new to the team?

CHRIS BOUCHER: I mean, I think the coaching staff is preaching that every time, so he just picked it up. Obviously, you can hear every time-- like if you watch the game, you hear big guys talking all the time. So, you know, it just helps people like me, Precious, to consistently be able to communicate. And the fact that we're doing a lot of switch that's a lot of talking. You can't just point switch, because they'll just blow by you. So you have, kind of, no choice to talk. And it helps that that's a normal thing for him.

- All right, thanks, Chris. Have a good night.

CHRIS BOUCHER: Yeah, you too.

- Thanks, Chris. That's all the questions we have for you here. Have a safe flight.

CHRIS BOUCHER: You too.