Powell continues to take advantage of opportunity with Raptors

Josh Lewenberg

TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - In the NBA, not unlike anywhere else in professional sports, a player is only as good as the opportunity he's given and nobody understands that like DeMarre Carroll, who hasn't just seen it, he's lived it.

A late first-round pick back in 2009, it took the Raptors' gritty forward three years and four different teams before he finally got the chance to prove himself in Utah.

Making a playoff push towards the end of the lockout-shortened season in 2012, the Jazz were undermanned, missing three wing players in Raja Bell, Josh Howard and C.J. Miles, which forced them to turn to the recently-signed Carroll. If he looked like a guy starting for the second time in 99 career games, well, it's because he was. He played 11 scoreless minutes in that first start but got another, and then another. In fact, he's started all but three of the 179 games he's played since.

He didn't just get an opportunity, he ran away with it.

On Thursday, Carroll - Toronto's big offseason signee - returned from a 41-game absence following his early-January knee surgery. In the time he's been out, he's seen Norman Powell emerge along a familiar path. No, Powell is not a discarded journeyman. He's a rookie, a second-round pick, but in the 22-year-old, Carroll sees a young man taking advantage of his shot and he knows how much good can come from that.

"I look at [my injury] from a bigger standpoint," Carroll said. "It gives guys like Norman opportunities to go out there and show what they can do. This league, I know for a fact going through what I went through, it's nothing but opportunity and, when your number's called, you just have to take advantage of it. I think having more guys and more depth is only going to help us in the long run, so I feel like it was a blessing in disguise in that aspect."

With Carroll sidelined, Powell has made 20 starts, first platooning with James Johnson at the small forward position before staking claim to the job with his strong play. Like Carroll's journey, it took some time. Initially, he wasn't great, but he's been a pleasant surprise for Toronto down the stretch, a late-season revelation.

Powell has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games; none bigger than a career-best 27-point performance powering the Raptors to an unexpected 111-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Playing in the second night of a back-to-back, Dwane Casey decided it best to sit Carroll out as a precaution, but with the team locked into the second seed and preparing for the playoffs, he also rested three starters: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Luis Scola. Meanwhile, the Pacers, a potential first-round opponent, came in highly motivated as a club still jockeying for post-season positioning.

Naturally, most anticipated a Raptors loss, but Powell and a host of other young players and reserves saw it as another opportunity.

With DeRozan out, Casey ran some of his plays for Powell, but the rookie's best DeMar impression came at the line, where he attempted 19 free throws - more than any other first-year player this season. He's in pretty good company as only three Raptors have ever gotten to the stripe more in one game: Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and DeRozan.

"For me, it's just how I played basketball growing up," said the hard-nosed Powell, who hit 14 of his free throws while shooting 5-for-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range, also adding six rebounds and four assists. "That tough, physical style of basketball - not being afraid of anybody, contact, whatever it is, just getting to the rim and trying to finish as strong as you can. I think it's something you can learn, but I think it's something that you've got to have in you, not to be afraid to go up and meet the challenge."

Meet the challenge he has.

By now you've probably heard his story - a seasoned, four-year player out of UCLA, nothing fazes him. In a matter of weeks, he's gone head-to-head with James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Korver and, on Friday, he chased around Monta Ellis, even switching off on Paul George some. He's had varying success against them to be sure, but he hasn't backed down.

Defence is his calling card, but his offence has come along much quicker than anyone expected. He has that knack for getting into the lane and finishing in transition and around the bucket. Then, there's his much improved jump shot. After missing 13 of his first 14 career attempts from beyond the arc, Powell is shooting 25-for-59 (42 per cent).

The sample size is getting bigger, but even as his scoring develops and becomes a bigger part of his game, he knows where his bread is buttered and you can be sure Casey isn't going to let him forget.

"It's gravy, believe me, I promise you it's gravy," Casey said of Powell's offence. "He can't lose sight of playing defence first. Don't go out shooting threes and jacking up threes, we'll take what the defence gives him. Fortunately for him, because there's so much attention inside or in the pick-and-roll situation, the ball is finding him and he's knocking it down. But his first job is not three-point shooting. His first job is defence."

"I pride myself on being a two-way player, but defence fuels my offence," Powell insisted. "Being able to get stops, get a rebound and push it in transition to attack the rim. So, defence is always first for me no matter how much I score or don't score - that's one thing I can control. Making or missing shots is going to happen, but that defensive energy, focus and just determination of locking that guy down in front of you, you can always control that night in and night out."

The Raptors will continue to ease Carroll back into action over these final three games, likely playing him in two of them. Having him back for the post-season, even on a minutes restriction and still working himself into game shape again, could be big for them, but that doesn't mean Powell will be relegated to the bench. Carroll is hopeful that he can play 25-30 minutes once the first round opens next weekend, but even that may be wishful thinking. His workload won't be what it was before the injury and Powell has more than earned a piece of the pie. He could conceivably continue to start, allowing Casey to monitor Carroll's minutes off the bench.

The emergence of Powell has given Casey more options than he could have imagined and a pretty good problem to have going into the playoffs. In that sense, Carroll hit the nail on the head - his injury has come with a silver lining.

"He's playing great, man, playing great," Carroll said of the rookie. "Got thrown into the fire early and didn't respond, but then went to the D-League, came back and he responded. That's all you can ask for from a guy like that. The biggest thing at that age, being a rookie coming in and contributing like that, is you've just gotta stay hungry. You can't be happy and then go back to doing the things that you did before. He just has to stay hungry and I feel like he will. He's going to help us in the playoffs."

"It's all about being ready," said Powell, wise beyond his years. "It's a process. It's the grind of just staying focused, locked in and going in day in and day out putting up shots, working on your craft and getting ready for your chance. Unfortunately, DeMarre went down with his knee injury, but it gave other guys an opportunity to show the team what they can do - next man up - and I think that's really good because it shows there's going to be no drop off whoever you put in the game."