How Norman Powell and Tyronn Lue developed a Clippers bond
They had been in each other’s orbits throughout three consecutive years of playoff battles between Cleveland and Toronto. They had mutual NBA pals. And throughout the NBA’s 2020 bubble, that they had shared a dialog about passing when the Clippers assistant pulled apart the Toronto guard.
There was a familiarity between Tyronn Lue and Norman Powell once they joined forces final season with the Clippers, however being an acquaintance of somebody will not be the identical as being coached by them. As quickly as Powell arrived through commerce from Portland, their time to learn to work collectively was reduce unexpectedly quick by a foot damage that value Powell two months.
Deepening their relationship must wait till the offseason, in Las Vegas, the place each have houses. A maniacal employee, Powell started his summer time exercises as early as 6 a.m., and he tried persuading Lue to cease by, however the coach will not be an early riser. And so the 2 usually met at a unique spot: Lue’s favourite craps desk at his favourite high-rise on line casino alongside the town’s famed strip.
Powell favored to enter the on line casino throughout the early night to see whether or not the coach was taking part in. If he noticed him close to the desk’s finish, the place a crowd often shaped round Lue, Powell would both be part of Lue within the recreation or a dialog whereas the coach performed.
“T-Lue is a light guy, it wasn’t super deep or trying to figure out how the next year would go, but talking here and there and seeing him in Vegas, hanging out with him, building more of a friendship and bond away from basketball, that’s how I saw it, and enjoyed it,” Powell mentioned.
Taking on Powell might have been learn as a raffle — promoting a participant who acted as a main scorer in Portland on coming off the bench to assist Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, at a hefty value to the staff’s tax invoice. On Saturday, the one-year anniversary of his commerce, Powell continued to point out why it has paid off.
The 6-foot-3 guard from San Diego Lincoln High and UCLA scored 24 factors in an additional time win in opposition to New York, his right-handed dunk over Knicks ahead Julius Randle punctuating a stretch of play that has seen Powell flip into the type of offensive power the Clippers hoped they have been getting one yr in the past.
Since a rocky taking pictures stretch to open the season, confusion over his function because it alternated between starter and reserve, adopted by a late-November groin damage that sidelined him 10 video games simply as he’d constructed momentum, Powell has settled right into a rhythm that may see him contend for the NBA’s sixth man of the yr honor. Since getting back from damage in late December, Powell has made 46% of his three-pointers and 51% of his photographs general whereas averaging 18.6 factors, the very best common of any reserve guard in that span.
Powell, teammate Leonard mentioned, has “won a lot of games for us.”
“Obviously I was excited coming here and everything that comes with being back in L.A. and being part of the team,” Powell mentioned. “Honestly, I didn’t even really think about it being a year [since the trade] but it’s been a fun year being a part of the organization and being part of the guys and getting more comfortable and just helping the team.”
Well earlier than Lue coached him, he knew Powell might rating. What he has discovered this season about Powell is that he responds to a problem.
“We’ve been challenging him the last month of making the right play and getting to the paint, creating shots for Nico [Batum] and Marcus [Morris] and Luke [Kennard] and guys like that when you get downhill,” Lue mentioned. “He’s done a way better job of that.
“… Don’t just have 30 points and zero [assists] zero [rebounds]. Three or four assists, three or four rebounds. He’s evolved into a better player and being into our system and just understanding what we want from him every night and he’s been really good for us.”
The subsequent step for Powell: not solely impacting video games as a part of the reserves however whereas sharing the courtroom with Leonard and George. Thursday’s fourth-quarter collapse throughout a loss to Milwaukee confirmed how a lot work there may be to go. With the offense working solely via Leonard and George, Powell didn’t shoot throughout the closing 4 minutes 16 seconds.
“That’s on me,” Lue mentioned. “Just got to figure out when those two are on the floor with Norm, just keeping him involved in the game.”
Though Powell paired with Leonard on Toronto’s 2019 championship staff, that Raptors offense ran and moved, whereas the Clippers function at a slower tempo to determine and exploit mismatches, Leonard mentioned. Getting the ball to Powell can add juice to a plodding offense due to the best way he makes use of his athleticism to attract fouls, a novel talent on the roster. He has 5 video games of no less than 9 free-throw makes an attempt this season, yet one more than Leonard and two greater than George, and in his previous three video games Powell has taken 24 free throws. When these three play, the Clippers nonetheless enable extra factors than they rating on the season, but personal a free-throw fee within the league’s high 1%, in accordance with the superior statistics website Cleaning The Glass.
“On a lot of occasions, he’s instant offense,” George mentioned. “And it takes a lot of pressure off of us, gives us a breather, gives us a break. When he’s going and he’s got the aggressive mindset, it changes our team and it changes the game.”