The Toronto Raptors continue to cruise through the NBA season as we approach the All-Star break but were dealt a tough blow on the injury front to their most valuable bench piece Friday night. Guard Norman Powell injured his hand during the fourth quarter of Toronto’s win over the Detroit Pistons and the official diagnosis is not an encouraging one.
The Raptors announced in a release that Powell fractured the fourth metacarpal of his left hand. The fifth-year wing will be without a timetable for return and is listed as out indefinitely. The team says Powell will be re-evaluated as appropriate over the coming weeks.
Carving out a nice niche for himself as the Raptors’ sixth man, Powell was putting up career numbers this season thanks to his expanded role. After not breaking 10 points per game or 20 minutes of playing time per night over his first four seasons in the league, his numbers have spiked across the board in 2019-20. In 38 outings this season including 17 starts, Powell is averaging over 28 minutes of playing time and posting per-game averages of 15.3 points and 3.9 rebounds.
Despite their solid 35-14 record, the Raptors as a team continue to be ravaged by injuries. Norman Powell himself was just getting back up to speed after missing 11 games due to a shoulder injury but will now miss multiple weeks with his hand fracture.
Powell will join starting center Marc Gasol and also veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson on the sidelines as they recover from injuries of their own. On the season, Kyle Lowry also missed multiple weeks after hurting his right ankle while first-time All-Star Pascal Siakam has missed 11 games of his own with a groin injury.
The Raptors had started to finally get healthy and gel together as of late but will now have to proceed without Norman Powell in the lineup. Hopefully, the All-Star break will make his absence more bearable for the second-seeded Raptors. With Powell out for the foreseeable future, starters Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby could be relied on more heavily for production while Patrick McCaw could also see an increased role off the bench for the time being.
