Trash-talk: Toronto Raptors Week #1

Norm Powell: Give me the ball at the end of the fourth quarter, I’m gonna make it freakin’ rain.

There’s been a collective contemplation among the Toronto Raptors since Kawhi left: Who’s going to get the ball in do-or-die situations?

While this wasn’t do-or-die per se given that the result ended with the game going into overtime, there was a huge gasp among NBA Twitter when we watched Norm Powell try to play hero at the end of the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans.

(If you haven’t seen the play, then make sure you’re sitting down before you click on this link to watch.)

Here are some highlights from Twitter:

https://twitter.com/CJMcCollum/status/1186834766751883266

There was also a big following on Twitter that was purely upset because they were going to miss the start of the “Battle for L.A.,” which just goes to show you where the Toronto Raptors rank in the relative atmosphere among NBA fans.

This is what we all feared heading into the regular season, who was going to take the shot in the big moment? Well, folks, it seems that Nick Nurse decided it was going to be Norm Powell, who had a pretty lackluster showing in the game overall.

But, as John Hollinger pointed out in the follow-up tweet, at least it was a surprise? Surely, there will be better plays drawn up in the future, but this one was a sheer miss, literally and figuratively. On the bright side, Nurse has already provided us with our first on-court gaffe of the season and, I’m sure, there will be plenty more to come as the season wears on.

Until then, let’s all just make a deal to “woosah” in group therapy fashion the next time we get shafted with a play call