Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher is 'feeling good' about his recent play and making the most of his opportunity

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Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher continues to serve as an example of how hard work and patience can pay off.

One night after tying his career-high with 15 points in Toronto's road win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Boucher again impressed with 13 points (including eight in the opening frame), six rebounds and two blocks in the shorthanded Raptors' loss to Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers.

Following the game, Boucher maintained a team-first perspective when asked how he would assess his recent performances: "If we would have won, I would’ve felt better. Obviously, there’s good things and bad things, but I’m feeling good right now."

The Montreal native added that he's "trying to learn as much as possible and do the best with my opportunities."

Early on in his career, opportunities have been scarce for the 26-year-old, who spent the majority of the 2018-19 season dominating the NBA G League with Raptors 905, earning both G League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honours.

Boucher attributed his work ethic and preparedness to his path from being a two-way player to earning a guaranteed contract with Toronto: "You know when it’s in the NBA, you have to work every time.

"A lot of work is behind the scenes and nobody sees it," Boucher continued, "but I’ve been putting in a lot of work and just trying to get better, trying to learn this defensive scheme, and do the right thing to help the team."

Based on his recent performances, Boucher is doing just that, and teammates have taken notice; Fred VanVleet told reporters postgame that Boucher is doing a 'fantastic job' by "coming in and scoring. We don't even ask him to score but he's knocking down 3s and offensive rebounds. He's doing it all."

The recent opportunity for Boucher has been a product of the Raptors being bitten hard by the injury bug during this road trip but he's certainly been prepared and made the most of it. As for what it means moving forward, he holds complete trust in the coaching staff.

"[Nick Nurse] is a good coach, so he’ll figure that out. I think what I do is just take the opportunity and try to do my best. Obviously, everybody wants to play, but I’m just trying to show him that I’m capable of playing. I think all the coaching staff will do a good job…we won a championship last year, so I have nothing to say about that. I think they’re going to [make good decisions]."

The views expressed here do not represent those of the NBA or its clubs.

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Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.