Last Wednesday in Montreal, with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter, Raptors forward Chris Boucher checked in for C.J. Miles in Toronto’s game against the Pelicans. This would have been a nothing occurrence, save for the fact that Boucher is a native of the city. As he took the floor, it was a moment.
The crowd had already thrown its support behind Boucher after he addressed the crowd—in both English and French—thanking them all for coming out to the Raptors’ second last preseason game. In the bigger picture of the NBA season, none of this really mattered.