This article was compiled from: Los Angeles Times
Written by Andrew Greif
原标题：With Kawhi Leonard out, Norman Powell is ready for latest Clippers crisis
In the G3 match against the Suns, Leonard was out due to injury, and Norman Powell scored 42 points to lead the team to the end. In the G4 game, Leonard is still suspended, can Powell, known as "Bokobe", save the Clippers?
Imitate Jordan and Kobe from an early age
Turn the clock back to last July. At 6 a.m., the sun had not yet risen and Powell had already appeared in the training gym. In the offseason, he trains five days a week, completing three workouts a day. The first is basketball and the second is weight training before lunch. The third event is usually hot pilates or boxing, which are played alternately.
Powell is definitely not short of motivation. He grew up watching Jordan's documentaries and studying Bryant's game tapes until he memorized his idol's every move, then went to a court east of San Diego to imitate those moves until he mastered it and integrated into his own game.
Powell's right forearm tattoo is the letter U.T.G, which stands for Understand The Grind, and he has turned this motto into a clothing brand. He also had "Philippians 4:13" written on his right shoulder, a biblical verse that reminded him that no obstacle was insurmountable.
Powell's "weakness"
During weekday training, if his friends feel that his energy has decreased, they also know how to motivate him. AJ Diggs has been a trainer for Powell for 8 years and knows Powell's "weaknesses" very well.
Last fall, Mr. Diggs told the Los Angeles Times that naming people who had not believed him in the past would easily inspire Powell's fighting spirit. "They know me," Powell responded, "I'm kind of crazy." ”
In high school, they would deliberately shout out the names of players ranked before him. Once in the NBA, they will mention the 45 players who were drafted before Powell in 2015, who was the No. 46 pick in the second round of the 2015 draft.
"One of my brothers would send me some rankings or something like that, like the top 100 players in the league, but I wasn't on it," Powell said, "and I thought, bro, you send me this every year — I really don't care." They also know that there aren't many players on the list who are really better than me. ”
Ask Lu about Kobe Bryant's training program
For players like Powell, who love a challenge, adversity inspires them more. In the G3 game against the Suns in the first round of the playoffs, Leonard missed the right knee sprain, George was still recovering from the injury, and Powell shouldered the burden of scoring with the Clippers. He entered the starting lineup and scored 42 points, the fourth highest score in Clippers playoff team history.
His coach, Taryn Lew, wasn't surprised because he saw the effort behind Powell's outburst. Since being traded from the Blazers to the Clippers in 2021, Powell has been asking Tyronn Lue about Bryant's training regimen and mentality. Lu was once Bryant's Lakers teammate and Jordan's teammate when he played for the Wizards.
"I told him about Bryant, if you want to go to see him train, you have to arrive at 4:30 a.m.," Lu said. I think as long as you have the goal of working hard to achieve greatness, you will definitely understand Kobe's mentality. When you're committed enough to hone your skills day in and day out, you're sure to play well. ”
From show 46 to 90 million in 5 years
Powell felt that his passion, drive, and conviction had been built up from an early age. When he saw those videos of Kobe Bryant's games, and saw his mother rushing to provide for her family, the belief in working hard was deeply ingrained in his heart.
For a No. 46 pick, the all-too-familiar thing is adversity.
When he first joined UCLA, Powell had a limited offensive role, averaging only 4.6 points in his big game, and was almost forced to transfer, but he persevered, averaging 16.4 points per game in his senior year, becoming the team's scoring leader. At that draft eight years ago, Powell saw so many players being drafted before him, and a dozen or twenty of them didn't perform as well as himself. He also persevered. In 2019, he won a championship with the Raptors, and in 2021 he signed a five-year, $90 million contract, and many of the new draft picks ahead of him have left the league.
He knows that this is his path, and adversity often stimulates his superpowers and keeps him moving forward.
The adversity of G3 has allowed Powell to score 42 points, but unfortunately he could not win. G4 is also adversity, and many reporters even say that the Clippers' series is over. Powell will not give up, because he knows that every adversity will be an opportunity to explode.