Toronto Raptors: Whose stock is up/down, plus Delon Wright on the rise

Norman Powell – Stock Up

Once again, Norman Powell continues his surge towards redemption. A strong all-around week was on the menu as Powell begins to move the needle towards being a quality bench player, something he has looked like since the moment he came back from injury. We almost lost him again, thanks to an errant Jeff Green “screen”. Green forced Powell round a high-screen before launching his shoulder into Norms face like a projectile missile. Best of all, no foul.

Anyway, Norm started with a spirited performance against the Nets, finishing with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists. It’s quite apparent that his decision-making is looking a lot better, he’s taking open shots as opposed to driving to the rim into contact and is even confident enough to start taking more three’s. While he’s only making 33-percent, that’s okay, Powell is only taking two a game, that number could shift up to 35-percent with a bit of luck, who knows.

What stands out, though, is Powell’s defense. He doesn’t give ball-handlers an inch of room to work with, chases players around screens and forces a lot of turnovers. Powell is definitely one of the better defenders on a team full of great defenders, especially when he’s on his game. It’s just a matter of carrying on this run of form, and it’s looking promising. Powell played the most minutes out of everyone on the bench against Boston, accumulating 23 positive minutes where he scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting and making one of his two three-pointers.

Powell is becoming a regular feature in this article and it’s a great feeling.