ATLANTA—To fully appreciate where Norm Powell is these days means remembering where he has been.
Powell’s excellence has always been there in spurts. He is fully capable of wonderful games where he is totally engaged, making wise decisions, playing his butt off defensively. But there have been those other nights, those games when he was too rushed, too full of confidence, too reckless with the ball, too out of the loop defensively.
To watch him now, though, is to see a model of consistency and confidence and smarts. He has become an invaluable contributor to a Raptors team that has a chance to be very, very good.