The Los Angeles Clippers will visit Target Center and take on the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 7-8 play-in game out in the Western Conference on Tuesday. The winner of the contest will book a ticket to the 2022 NBA playoffs as the no. 7 seed and will face the no. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
L.A. will undoubtedly lean on Paul George to deliver them the goods and bring them to the postseason. But the Clippers will need more than just PG13 if they want to overcome Minnesota's Big 3 of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell.
With that said, the Clippers' will need Norman Powell to be their X-Factor for play-in game versus the Timberwolves.
Clippers X-Factor in 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament vs. Timberwolves: Norman Powell
As mentioned, Paul George will need to activate Playoff P right now if they want to book a ticket to the playoffs on Tuesday. With Kawhi Leonard still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in last year's postseason, Norman Powell will need to step up as the no. 2 option for the Clippers.
LA acquired Powell at the trade deadline along with Robert Covington while sending Eric Bledsoe, Justice Winslow, Keon Johnson and a second round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers. The move was seen as a play for next season, when the Clippers project to return to full strength. But the 6-foot-3 guard could certainly help them make a valiant postseason run this year.
Unfortunately, Powell has played just five games since getting traded to his hometown club. The former UCLA standout suffered a fractured foot in just his third game with his new team. This forced him to miss 22 games before returning to play in two of the Clippers' final three games of the regular season.
Nonetheless, in those five games, the 28-year old showed just what he can bring to this Clippers squad. He averaged 21.4 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Powell has proven in his time with the Toronto Raptors and the Portland Trail Blazers that he can light up the scoreboard on any given night.
Reggie Jackson served that no. 2 scoring option role for L.A. when Leonard went down last year. And on multiple occasions, the 31-year old made huge shots for the Clippers throughout that postseason run. With Powell around, he gives the Clippers another legitimate scoring option and shot creator alongside George and Jackson.
L.A. will definitely need his firepower to match Minnesota's Big Three of Towns, Edwards and Russell. The Clippers have proven all season that they can hold their own defensively. But their offense hasn't been as good, simply because they've dealt with so many injuries all season long. This is where Powell steps in as he can provide immediate impact that could make the Clippers a much more dangerous out.
Powell also brings a vast amount of postseason experience with him. He won a championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, where he averaged nearly 16 quality minutes off the bench. He, especially, had a huge impact in their Eastern Conference Finals 4-2 series win over the Milwaukee Bucks, where he averaged 12.3 points on 45.6 percent field goal shooting and 41.9 percent 3-point shooting.
The Clippers made the Western Conference Finals last season with George leading this gritty bunch of role players. There's plenty of reason to believe they could make some surprises in the postseason, especially with the addition of a legitimate scorer and capable no. 2 option like Norman Powell.
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