FULL-COURT PRESS
Powell knew his hard work would pay off ... ‘Heartbeat of team’ Lowry’s return did wonders for Raptors ... Brown waived ... VC back again, maybe for the last time
Norman Powell
always believed his return to NBA relevance was only a matter of time.
It was never a question of work ethic — Powell lives in the gym and is constantly trying to improve. Still, after breakout playoff performances against the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks helped the Raptors advance, Powell wasn’t able to carry things over into the regular season, despite the comfort of a rich new deal.
Powell’s jumper and confidence wavered last season, but he returned with a flourish in 2018-19, only to be felled early by a shoulder injury.
Now a few weeks into his return to action, Powell has been turning heads regularly and reminding the NBA what he is capable of.
He scored a season-best 23 points against the Pacers on Sunday, making 10-of-12 field-goal attempts, but also impressed his opponents with his defensive aggressiveness.
In his nine games back, Powell has averaged 9.8 points and shot 49% from the field.
“It feels good. I’ve always been a firm believer in hard work pays off, and your hard work’s going to show, it’s just a matter of time, as long as you stick with the process, stay positive and continue to work through whatever is thrown at you,” Powell said.
“I just feel good … I feel really confident. I think that the coaching staff is trusting me, I’ve talked to them, breaking down film and everything like that, and talking with me about finding my spots, to be aggressive and help the team, and where I fit in.”
Dialling things back and being a bit more patient has paid off for Powell. His teammates are thrilled to see the popular guard thriving.
“When he falls into not trying to force it, but just plays in the rhythm of the game and takes what the game gives him, he’s a great player,” said Kyle Lowry.
“Now it’s just continuing to stay consistent and being patient. You’re not going to have 20-something points every night. But the games when you have eight points and play with energy and get a couple of steals and rebounds, those are big nights for us also.”
Fred VanVleet added that Powell’s play is “nothing that we haven’t seen before … the guy’s a heck of a player who had a tough stretch (with injuries).”
“Just looks fast and fresh and athletic and strong and playing the right way,” added Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.
MAKING HIS PRESENCE FELT
It didn’t take long for Lowry to remind everyone of everything he brings to the table. Toronto looked like a different team with its floor general against Indiana.
“He’s just the heartbeat of the team, he’s our leader,” said VanVleet.
“Pace, energy, aggressiveness, switching, rebounding, finding guys, making shots, he does it all. He’s been playing at a high level for a long time now and, obviously, being out for almost a month, he’s going to have some time to work himself back in. He played way better than I expected him to play, he jumped right back into the swing of things and, hopefully, we can keep him healthy going forward.”
Lowry returned the compliments, lauding his teammates for “holding down the fort” without him and praising them for their performance on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
The Raptors expect to have both Lowry and Kawhi
Leonard in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 9 to take on Vince Carter and the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
DOWN GOES BROWN
The Raptors waived point guard Lorenzo Brown in an expected move on Monday.
Brown, a former G-League MVP, made 40 appearances over two seasons with Toronto and 32 with Raptors 905 last season.
The move cuts Toronto’s luxury-tax bill and opens up some future roster flexibility, including converting Canadian big man Chris
Boucher from a two-way to a standard NBA contract (which is what happened with Brown last year).
AROUND THE RIM
Tuesday’s game will mark
Vince Carter’s 37th game against the Raptors. He’s averaged 16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in those regular-season contests. Of course, Carter also averaged 25 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4 assists in the six-game New Jersey Nets playoff series win in 2006-07. His 23.7 points per game at home while a Raptor are the most by any Toronto player … Lowry, Toronto’s all-time steals leader, needs one more to reach 700 as a Raptor …
Pascal Siakam has averaged 20 points and 8.4 rebounds over his past five games.