Norman Powell flexed his big boy game in Game 4 of the Denver-Portland series and as a result we head into Game 5 in Denver knotted at 2-2.
Norman Powell came to Portland as an unrestricted free agent at the deadline. Unlike all of the other Trailblazers…Powell has an NBA championship ring from being a key member of the 2019 Toronto team.
And make this clear…Powell is not only playing to make Portland a more viable two way team, but he’s playing to show the rest of the league what the value of his next contact should be at the conclusion of this season.
We all love watching the Trailblazers because of what Damian and CJ do offensively, but let’s be honest–Portland in reality is kind of a pushover basketball team which seldom goes deep because they don’t have the overall team grit to be a viable defensive team.
Damian Lillard to me is kind of what Ovechkin was in hockey pre-2019. That being a great offensive player who doesn’t backcheck and do all the dirty little blue collar things which your best player has to do if you want to hoist a Cup or an O’Brien Trophy.
Same with Russell Westbrook. He’s not winning anything with all those triple doubles because he now plays like a cupcake on the defensive end of the floor. He didn’t at UCLA, but in the NBA he’s become a dandelion.
I personally think Norman Powell is a better overall player than CJ. So can the second best player on a team change the culture of a team?
Messier did in hockey with Gretzsky. Michael, Kobe, and LeBron never needed someone to play defense for them as all three were bulldogs on the defensive end.
So what I asking myself out loud is can Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum feed off of a Norman Powell and become real legit two way basketball players who can make deep runs in post season play?
Unlike the Miami flameout versus Milwaukee…at least this Denver-Portland series is giving me some reasons to keep watching the games.
Norman Powell somewhat fascinates me.
Damian Lillard…your legacy as of now is your’re a great scorer who never wins anything. You want to take your legacy to the next level…you gotta do the little dirty things or at least have a guy around you who will do them for you.
Damian…you’re not alone in this. Chris Paul hasn’t won anything else either. Legacies are defined in post season, not the regular season. He’s in the same boat as you and I would guess that’s why he’s playing hurt this time around in Phoenix.