Toronto Raptors: Stock Take, plus Kyle Lowry has a great week

Norman Powell

Okay, come on now, Norman Powell. Let’s not do this all over again, please. The paradox that surrounds Powell is his greatest consistency is, well, his lack of consistency. It hurts.

Last season, we saw the best there was to offer from Norman Powell. He looked smart and decisive with the basketball in his hands, and he was shooting consistently from three and from deep. 40-percent on a career-high 2.8 three-point attempts per game isn’t groundbreaking, but the modicum of hope that he gave seemed pretty real. Was Norman Powell for real?

He had to be, right?

The Toronto Raptors have a depth crisis that has already been touched on, but Powell – as the seventh man in the rotation – has more incentive to step up than most. After Powell, the rotation is a jumbled mess with no real candidates to break through, bar Terence Davis.

Unfortunately, the last two games have told us that Norm either, A: isn’t ready to step up, or B: just can’t find that consistent groove that has alluded him for four years. When Powell is good, he’s good. But when he’s not on the money, it’s ugly. The Raptors are just a better team when he isn’t on the court right now.

Powell needs to make a jump to save this bench, but five points on 27-percent shooting from the field and 17-percent from three in his last two games is not the answer to our prayers.

VERDICT: STOCK DOWN