Raptors' Boucher has sprained MCL, no set timetable for return

Toronto Raptors big man Chris Boucher suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee, the team announced on Friday.

The 28-year-old will be out through at least April 29 - the start of the Raptors' west coast road trip - but a definitive timeline for his return was not given.

Boucher exited in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's game after the Brooklyn Nets' Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot landed on his left ankle while contending a rebound.

Boucher has enjoyed a breakout season, averaging career highs in points (13.6), rebounds (6.7), and blocks (1.9) in 24 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 Canadian has also shot the ball extraordinarily well, hitting just under 52% of his shots overall and nearly 39% of his 3.3 long-range attempts per game.

The injury deprives the Raptors of a key frontcourt contributor as the team looks to keep its streak of seven straight playoff appearances alive. With just 13 regular-season games remaining, Toronto is seven games behind the sixth-seeded Boston Celtics, the owners of the final guaranteed postseason berth.

However, the Raptors, currently 25-34 (.424), remain just half a game behind the 10th-seeded Washington Wizards, the last spot eligible for participation in this season's new play-in tournament format.

The winner of the single-elimination play-in game between the ninth- and 10th-seeded teams would face the loser of the seventh- and eighth-seeded teams for the right to enter the main playoff field as the eighth seed.