CHICAGO—Presented with the most clearly defined role of his short NBA career, Norm Powell is now firmly under pressure to produce.
By dealing away Terrence Ross to obtain much-needed front-court help — Serge Ibaka of the Magic — the Raptors have rolled the dice that Powell is ready to assume a hefty role as the primary back-court backup on the roster.
No longer just a spot starter who spends game after game after game buried on the bench when the full roster in intact, Powell needs to produce in a consistent role.
“I think Norm is ready for the opportunity,” Kyle Lowry said here Tuesday before the Raptors faced the Chicago Bulls. “He should be excited for the opportunity. He’s proven he can play this game and he can help us. There’s no excuses. He has to come out and do his thing and help us.”
Powell, in his second season with Toronto, has done an admirable job when he’s been asked to fill in as a starter this season, averaging 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and almost 32 minutes in 14 games in that role. But he’s also suffered through long bouts of inactivity when the roster was intact. Not having Ross in front of him removes that obstacle.
“As a coaching staff we put him in a tough situation,” admitted head coach Dwane Casey. “He starts one game and has a rhythm. He comes off the bench in the fourth quarter when we need him and it’s a different rhythm.
“That’s hard to do and it’s tough on him, but as I mentioned to the players: This is the NBA. You have a chance to do your job. If it’s two minutes, five minutes, the whole game, go in and do your job, and don’t forget what got you here. The dirty work, the grimy work.”
Powell isn’t as effective a three-point shooter as Ross, nor does he take nearly as many shots from beyond the arc. He’s also smaller and less experienced, but Powell has shown a needed defensive toughness. It remains to be seen whether he can effectively guard the bigger small forwards in the league over a long period of time, but he is going to get his chance.
A back-court rotation of Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Powell is what Toronto will be using in the final 27 games of the regular season. And for the first time in his short career, Powell knows he’ll be part of it every night.
“I think it’ll be easier knowing the rotation, knowing when you’re going to go in, when your name’s going to be called, but it’s still the same thing for me,” he said. “I have to go in there and produce and help on both sides of the ball, defence first, and take some pressure off of DeMar and Kyle when asked upon. Try to be productive in the minutes that are presented to me now.”
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