Nurse hopeful Boucher, Porter can be ready for Raptors' opener

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters Wednesday that the hope is to have Otto Porter Jr. and Chris Boucher be back for the start of the regular season, but their status remains up in the air as they continue to battle hamstring injuries.

TSN's Josh Lewenberg tweets that it sounds like the pair will be held out of the rest of camp. The Raps are scheduled to open the 2022-23 season next Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

With opening night a week away, Nick Nurse says that the hope/goal is to have Otto Porter Jr. and Chris Boucher back for the start of the season, but their status is still up in the air. Sounds like they’ll be held out the rest of camp with their hamstring injuries.

Porter has been battling his injury since late September and has not yet appeared in a pre-season game while Boucher has appeared in three games, missing Toronto's game against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Signed to a two-year deal by the Raptors in the off-season, Porter helped the Golden State Warriors to an NBA Championship last year, averaging 8.2 points on 46.4 per cent shooting (37 per cent from beyond the arc) in 63 games. 

Boucher, a Montreal native, is heading into his fifth season with the Raptors. He averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds in 80 games last season. 

The Raptors will wrap up their pre-season slate Friday in Montreal against the Boston Celtics where Boucher is not expected to play in his hometown.