Toronto Raptors Rookie Review: Norman Powell

Toronto Raptors “Mr. Serious” has been the steal of last year’s draft. He’s been able to overcome all the odds of being a second round draft pick, a D-leaguer, and once traded, to become an explosive three and D guard that any franchise would love to have on their roster.

Norman Powell has always been lauded as a tough player, and not just physically tough, but mentally tough. When he was traded he saw the move as motivation to prove that the Bucks had made a mistake in trading him. He’s succeeded and the Toronto Raptors have reaped the benefits. He Shredded the summer league circuit, posting 18.3 points, and 4.3 rebounds in 25.5 over four games. The Raptors signed him to a three-year contract and the rest is history.

When Powell was drafted his most attractive asset was his defense — and for good reason. He’s an exceptional perimeter defender. I’ve mentioned before that defense determines your position in the NBA. Typically Powell would be considered a tall point guard for most teams, but since he’s capable of locking down 2-guards he plays the 2.

He is only 6-foot-4 but has a wingspan of 6-foot-11 and a 40-inch vertical. He’ll usually be shorter than anyone he is defending but that isn’t always a disadvantage as a guard. Against players in the post Powell uses his height deficit to make his centre of gravity lower than his opponent, keeping him on balance but also using his body as a wedge to push defenders off their spot.

The further the offense starts from the basket the better. What could have turned into a fadeaway jumper on the right block has turned into an awkward drive out of the post which Powell stops due to his superior lateral quickness.

Powell maintains a low defensive stance and keeps wide as possible to make him balanced while also using his length to restrict the offensive player’s movement. He shuffles and bounces in unison with his opponent dribbling the ball so he’s never caught out of position. Since he’s already so low to the ground Powell is apt to steal the ball. He likes to reach in, which has led to ticky-tack fouls, but it also leads to a lot of these.

Powell is a shadow. He’s always attached to his man with or without the ball and his length combined with athleticism makes him great at ball denial. He’s capable of disrupting the flow of an offense and breaking plays causing teams to resort to 1-on-1 or screen and rolls. This makes him especially handy when he was assigned to

Paul George

in the playoffs.

He’s slender enough to slip past screens but he’s also athletic enough to catch up to his man if he ever gets hung up never truly leaving his man, almost to a fault.

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Powell blazes down the seams of the defense, he surpasses the big men at the beginning of the break and by the time he gets to the second set of defenders, they’re already on the back foot or trailing Mr. Serious. It’s hard to stop the ball when you can’t catch it.

Powell also knows how to harness that speed in the half court too. He doesn’t only use straight line drives to the rim, Powell has a pet cross over that he uses to break defenders down before attacking. Typically it’s a right to left crossover that results in a pull-up if he can wiggle free of his defender, or a blinding blow-by if the defender is too close

That’s okay for 1-on-1 situations, but in the Raptors offense the guards run a lot of pick and roll, which is where Powell needs to develop in subsequent years. Powell has a decent handle but he relies too much on his speed in the pick and roll. He will only go one direction around the pick, he never dances, and if he does make it around the pick he only goes to the hole.

Ignore the score.

Richard Jefferson

got obliterated by the screen leaving Powell with Mozgov on him and a ton of space. Instead of taking a pull-up jumper (look at the space Mozzy gives him) he decides to attack Mozgov at the rim for a much more difficult shot when he could have done this instead:

Powell rarely utilizes his handle to change directions or speed when he makes it to the secondary defender.

His playing style lacks craft. Floaters are as rare as left hand finishes around the rim and it hampers his sensational finishing ability.

Powell also doesn’t have any moves around the rim. The layups are all standard layups, he has no up and unders, no scoops, no euro steps, no layups high off the glass, and barely a left hand. His footwork is non-existent, so he doesn’t glide by anyone or stop on a dime. It’s a simple drive to and around the rim and without those moves it can lead to him attempting this:

A wild shot over two defenders if he can’t dunk. It went in, but we know Dwane Casey isn’t happy with that shot attempt. Powell could opt to pass out of that action but he isn’t a great passer, not that he necessarily needs to be, though.

Mr. Serious is capable of picking players out on the break, hitting them for open shots but he’s not going to be the Raptors floor general. Shooting guards are supposed to shoot and he does it exceptionally well now.

Norman Powell was a career 31.4 percent three-point shooter at UCLA and he has improved to be an awe-inspiring 40 percent from range this year. Not suprising because when he was in college Powell shot the ball almost like a trebuchet that originated behind his head with his left hand over the top of the ball, elbow out, on his way down… It was atrocious.

Now his form has tightened up. He shoots the ball on the way up and has moved his off-hand to the side to simply guide the ball instead of holstering it.

Powell doesn’t always need to be set up for his shot since he’s a capable mid range shooter off the dribble. This also makes him tough to handle in 1-on-1 situations.

Overall, Powell has been the steal of the draft. He’s been able to overcome all the odds of being a second round draft pick, a D-leaguer, and once traded, to become an explosive three and D guard that any franchise would love to have on their roster.

Stats are hard to quantify, but his impact defensively is excellent. Powell averaged 5.6 points, 2.3 rebound and an assist in the 49 games he played and really turned it up after the All-Star break, averaging 9.6 points while shooting 45.5 percent from three, while also chipping in 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 turnover in 23 minutes per game.

If Powell can polish his game around the rim, and in pick and roll situations, he’ll be considered more than a ‘significant rotational piece’ in the future.

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