Norman Powell, one of the key bench players for the Toronto Raptors, was injured in the second quarter of their game versus the Utah Jazz on Monday night. The shooting guard suffered a left shoulder sprain just seconds after he entered the game off the bench.
Powell was defending Jazz shooting guard Royce O’Neale when the injury occurred. With 9:59 to go in the second quarter, O’Neal used center Rudy Gobert as a screen to free himself up from Powell’s defense. Gobert was holding the ball aloft when Powell decided to take a swipe at it. That was when the Raptors’ 6-foot-4 guard suddenly held his left shoulder as he ran back to the bench writhing in pain. He was immediately brought to the locker room by the Raptors’ medical staff for observation and treatment.
Without the four-year veteran on the court, O’Neale was able to find a seam in the defense and scored on a layup, giving the Jazz a four-point lead, 39-35. Even without Powell, the Raptors won the game 124-111.
Powell is averaging 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while playing in 16.3 minutes this season. He’s also shooting career-high clips of 47.6 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range.
The Raptors are 9-1 after 10 games this season and are currently at the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference. They are among a handful of teams who only have one loss in the 2018-19 season along with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and Denver Nuggets.
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