TORONTO — When Toronto Raptors surprise starter Norman Powell picked up his second foul Saturday less than four minutes into the game, he started waving his hands to the bench, looking to the catch the eye of his head coach, Dwane Casey.
"I was trying to tell Coach Casey, like, don’t sub me out right now," Powell said Sunday afternoon. "I was trying to set the tone early—the physicality. … I knew how I was going to play and where I could be more aggressive and less aggressive.
"So, I was trying to tell Coach Casey, like, I’m good. I’m thinking the game through. I know what I’m doing. You can trust me out here. I won’t pick up my third foul."
The message got through. Casey left Powell on the floor and the second-year guard rewarded him with a tremendous performance in the Raptors’ 87-76 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, evening their first-round series at two games apiece. Casey tabbed Powell to start Game 4 following very limited minutes in the first three games of the series, and he wasn’t going to let a couple fouls get in the way.
"We were going to let him roll. Just let him play," Casey said. "It loosened things up. It gave us another attacker. A guy who can run the floor, who can shoot the three, who can open the floor up. It just gave us a different look."
Of course, Casey and his coaching staff made a gang of adjustments in order to bounce back from the embarrassment that was Game 3. But none were more prominent than the decision to start Powell in place of Jonas Valanciunas, shifting Serge Ibaka to centre and beginning the game with a very small, guard-heavy lineup meant to counter Milwaukee’s hot starts through the first three games of the series.
As Casey said after the game, there were a lot of factors that went into the decision. But much of it was to help Toronto get off to better starts, something the Raptors did on Saturday, sitting tied with the Bucks after both the first and second quarters.
Powell’s teammates certainly seemed to enjoy the fresh look he brought to their game. DeMar DeRozan—who had quite a bounce-back performance of his own—said Powell’s presence made his job easier and gave him more room to operate.
"It gave us another opportunity to have a ball handler out there," DeRozan said. "You’re getting off the ball. Norm, out there, he’s extremely aggressive. You’ve got to honour that. So, with that, the floor is spaced a little bit more. I was able to find spots, push the ball up. I know Norm is going to find his spots. It just gives us another option with a wing, perimeter guy out there."
Offensively, Powell hit all three of the shots he took from beyond the arc, and was one of only two Raptors to hit a three-pointer in the game. He got to the free-throw line four times, grabbed four rebounds and contributed four steals.
He was a team-high plus-15, and if Casey was even thinking of limiting his floor time, Powell didn’t give him the opportunity to, playing so well that Casey left him out for 34 minutes, which was the most on the team aside from Kyle Lowry and DeRozan.
Powell didn’t play a single crucial minute in the first three games of the series, coming off a regular season when his playing time fluctuated wildly. One would think there would be at least a slight adjustment process in going from such a minimal role to playing most of the game. But Powell didn’t show it.
"He’s a professional," Casey said. "He was out of the rotation a little bit, but he stayed ready, worked hard, put in extra time—the way all young players should. Being there early, being the last one off the court, keeping a positive attitude. You don’t like your role, but you embrace it, you understand the situation. You never want a player to like not being in the rotation. And Norm’s no different. But he stayed ready."
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This is now the second year in a row that Powell has been asked to make a considerable impact in a post-season series teetering on the brink. Last year, when the Raptors were struggling to contain Paul George in their opening-round series with the Indiana Pacers, Casey turned to then-rookie Powell to help check the Pacers star and keep the Raptors in the series.
The decision to start Powell on Saturday afternoon wasn’t made so much with the guarding of one particular player in mind, although his work on Khris Middleton was certainly appreciated. It’s no coincidence the Raptors’ first-quarter defence was the best it’s been in this series with Powell on the floor. He fought through screens, injected some much-needed energy, and held Middleton to 4-of-13 shooting from the field with four turnovers.
"We really had to come out and set the tone. Set the physicality, the pace, and set who was going to be the dominant team," Powell said. "I felt like we were able to do that in the first quarter. Even though after the first quarter it was tied, you could just see the difference in the physicality. The difference in the pace and the way we were playing. It really set the tone for the way the game was going to be played the full 48."
Casey told Powell he’d be starting Saturday’s game on Friday, letting the 23-year-old think about his assignment overnight. That couldn’t have helped his sleep. But Powell says that in this, his second NBA post-season, he’s feeling more at ease with his at-times sporadic role. And whether he’s asked to take on as much responsibility again in Game 5, or even return to the bench, he’ll be ready.
"I didn’t really have any nerves. I focused on the task and the mission at hand," Powell said. "That’s always been me. Giving myself up for the team. Preparing for any kind of circumstances that I’m placed in.
"It was about going in there and playing my game. Playing to the best of my ability and living with the results of it. Laying it all out there for my team and for myself. I prepare for this. Day in and day out. Early mornings, late nights. Extra workouts. I prepare myself for anything."
