Powell struggling to get off Raptors bench
Swingman’s role diminished with team on a roll
NEW YORK — It’s inevitable. When a good team — and the Toronto Raptors are a good team — gets on a roll (and the Raptors are definitely on a roll, having won 15 of their past 18 games) — not everyone gets to contribute.
Five-man units, a 10-man rotation ideally and 12 players in uniform each night means someone is going to spend a lot of time watching.
Head coach Dwane Casey has found the 10 he believes give the Raptors the best chance to win. Norm Powell is not among them. Neither is Lucas Nogueira.
Only an injury, early foul trouble by one of the 10, or a blowout gets these guys into the game these days.
Injuries have played a role. Nogueira was just starting to earn the kind of trust by the coaching staff that would ensure him minutes on a nightly basis when he went down with a calf strain. In his absence, Jakob Poeltl jumped into the void and has performed so well that, even with Nogueira now healthy, he’s the fourth or fifth big behind Jonas Valanciunas, Serge Ibaka, Poeltl and Pascal Siakam.
Powell had his own issues with injuries, sustaining a hip pointer early in the season in Boston. When he was ready to go again, both Delon Wright (back from a shoulder separation) and Fred VanVleet had established themselves in that second unit, meaning any minutes for Powell were few and far between.
It’s to the point where Powell is now getting the Bruno Caboclo treatment.
Powell got six minutes of garbage time in Friday’s win in Milwaukee, three-minutes midway through Wednesday’s win in Chicago and has yet to score in 2018.
Casey would like to get all his players the run they want, but that’s not realistic.
“It’s six one way, half a dozen the other,” he said. “Delon’s playing well, Fred’s playing well, OG (Anunoby) is playing well. Again, it’s one of those situations where you want to play everybody, but it’s almost impossible.
“What (Norm) has got to do is be professional and stay ready for his opportunity because his opportunity is going to come.”
Powell needs a couple of good games under his belt to regain his confidence, but right now finding any time for him has been hard.
“He’s done it in the past,” Casey said.