Toronto Raptors: The re-emergence of Norman Powell

On the brink of extinction, the Toronto Raptors fight their way back to even out the series thanks to the improved play of Norman Powell.

The complaint heard throughout the nation this postseason is that the Toronto Raptors bench has been heavily lacking production. This isn’t something new as the bench has struggled all year to keep up with the starters.

Various trades through the year (for Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol, and Danny Green) saw the Raptors lose the depth pieces that made their bench so strong in order to bolster their starting five.

But even with the loss of key pieces such as Jakob Poeltl and Delon Wright, Raptors management figured players like Norman Powell might carve out a bigger role helping to alleviate some of the stress from lack of depth. But for the most part this year that has not been the case for Playoff Powell.

Leading into this series Powell had played dreadfully. His production took a jump off a cliff as he managed to score 21 total points against the Philadelphia 76ers (an average of 3.5 per game).

Powell also saw his minutes steadily decrease the longer the playoffs went on, he went from averaging 19 minutes a night against the Orlando Magic to 11.1 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers while only playing 9 minutes and 54 seconds in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The trust in Powell was clearly evaporating, but then, almost out of nowhere, it clicked.

The Bucks took a near stranglehold lead after their Game 2 beatdown of the Raptors but, if there was one bright spot for the Raptors it was Powell’s performance. The Raptors stumbled out of the gate to a 35-21 deficit, leaving coach Nick Nurse with no option but to look for a spark in Powell.

Even though the Raptors ended up losing the contest, Powell was clearly a success, energizing the team with 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and providing speed and spacing to the Raptors lineup.

The speed specifically seemed to give the Bucks a little bit of trouble as he blew by defenders time and time again. With a new pitch in the arsenal, the Raptors prepped themselves for a do-or-die Game 3, fighting their way to a double-overtime win on the coattails of 29 minutes and 54-second performance from Powell. He went for 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists while also hitting 3-of-5 from deep.

Even though he fouled out before overtime Powell was key to the win. This had been the second time in as many years that Powell seems to put himself together against the Bucks. Two years ago the two-guard utilized his speed and floor spacing to torch the Bucks and helped push the Raptors into the Eastern Conference Final. Now in 2019, the Raptors were hoping for similar results from their speedster and it seems as if their prayers were answered.

Game four saw a trigger-happier Powell as he let it fly from deep all-game long chucking a career-high 13 three-pointers. Powell once again used his speed to open up opportunities for both himself and teammates, giving lanes and attack points previously not available. I’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Powell’s “improved” defense.

He ranks 18th  in defensive rating amongst players in the playoffs who average 10 minutes or more per game and gets even better if you limit it to players who’ve played six or more games where he ranks 8th.

Powell’s defensive rating of 96.3 is significantly improved from his 104.9 during the regular season. It seems that with the climbing intensity of the playoffs has helped focus Powell on the defensive side of the ball.

One of his biggest knocks defensively was his lack of awareness and seeming almost to doze off on defensive matchups allowing for easy buckets which in turn would deflate whatever solid play the team has strung together.

Powell’s inconsistent offense and lackadaisical defense helped play him off the court but with a little more focus and anticipation Powell made himself felt defensively.

Powell finished game four with only one steal but it was a noteworthy one. With about 8:40 left to play Powell tipped a ball to Fred VanVleet forcing a turnover, eventually leading to the high-arcing banked in a three-pointer that felt almost liberating for FVV and put the Raptors up 20 for good.

For Powell, it seems the bigger the moment the better he plays. Which is great news for the Raptors seeing as no moment has ever been bigger than this one for the franchise. With Game 5 on the horizon, the Raptors are hoping for yet another vintage Playoff P(owell) performance.