Carlos Powell

One of the top scorers in the NBADL in each of his two seasons of action, Carlos Powell scored a total of 45 points in his two games in Boise and only reinforced many of the things we wrote about him two seasons ago. After spending last year in Korea and training camp with the Warriors, Powell has been lighting up the scoreboard for Albuquerque all season long.

An incredibly assertive scorer, Powell can put the ball in the basket from virtually everywhere on the floor. Displaying a wide array of scoring moves around the rim, solid touch on his jumper, and a willingness to attack defenders off the dribble, he is one of the most talented and complete offensive players the D-League has to offer, despite the fact that he is not the most explosive athlete you’ll find.

While 52.2% shooting and 8.9 free throw attempts each game certainly warrant a lot of possessions, Powell often stalls Albuquerque’s offense when he looks to score. Getting a large portion of his offense in one-on-one situations, Powell still uses his physical strength rather than great quickness or explosiveness to bully defenders on this level, but he’s improved his range to some extent since his last stint in the NBADL and still dishes out a respectable number of assists thanks to his ability to consistently draw the attention of his teammates’ defenders.

Defensively, Powell remains limited from an NBA by his average lateral quickness, though his willingness to get physical allows him to produce some steals. He’s shown an improved energy level at times this season, which is something he needs to show consistently to improve his stock. Only an average rebounder, Powell can score in bunches on this level, and while he isn’t an ideal role-player, he is player who could receive call-up considerations considering his ability to immediately produce.

If Carlos Powell made it a point these last few days to prove that he’s a go-to guy at this level, then he surely did a good job of that. Powell was incredibly aggressive every time he touched the ball, taking the ball strong to the basket time after time and showing outstanding scoring instincts putting the ball in the hoop in a variety of ways. He posted up, hit pull-up jumpers, turnarounds, spot-up mid-range jumpers, runners, floaters and simple layups at the rim, as well as a lone NBA 3-pointer. He’s got an excellent first step, the ability to score with either hand, is extremely tough and physical, and really has outstanding instincts.

The downside to this was that his team’s ball-movement seemed to stop too often when the ball got to him. He’s a guy that needs the ball in his hands to be effective, as he’s not a great 3-point shooter and doesn’t get many points moving off the ball. He looks wild and completely out of control all the time seemingly, displaying poor shot selection and very little recognition for what the defense is giving him. He’s also not much of a passer as you can probably imagine, lowering his head and bulldozing his way to the basket showing little to no court vision.

Defensively, he came up with some steals, but wasn’t incredibly impressive in this area either, as his lateral quickness appears to be just average, even if his activity level can sometimes be high. His awareness if pretty poor, and he has a tendency to gamble too much looking to get his team in transition. If a team is looking for a sparkplug to bring off the bench for a lot of energy and scoring, Powell could be a solid option. Some might be looking for him to show off more of an all-around game, though.

The talented combo-forward out of South Carolina had a great season in Australia last season, leading the entire NBL in scoring. He can get to the basket at will off the dribble, and uses his quickness to make a variety of finishes near the basket. He is an extremely aggressive player with a high motor who hits the glass hard and is effective as a mismatch threat on both ends of the floor. To take his game to the next level, Powell must focus on developing consistent three point range, and show that he can defend NBA small forwards effectively. His scoring ability will make him one of the better players in the D-League, and he could certainly find himself with a call-up at some point during the season. Powell will likely spend some time at both forward spots in the D-League, though his game fits at the small forward position in the NBA.

Powell seems to be making very steady progress as a basketball player, and it’s not at all out of the question that he’ll follow in the footsteps of New Zealand’s import from last year Rich Melzer and land himself an NBA contract.

In this game he was absolutely electric off the dribble, creating his own shot at will thanks to his terrific first step and finishing powerfully with a series of quick spin moves and dunks. After playing for their Summer League team in Long Beach, Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Jerry West told us this not too long ago that his organization very much likes Powell, but that he “would like to see him expand his game a bit and become more versatile beyond just his scoring.” Powell seems to be doing just that, as he was a bundle of energy the entire game and did virtually everything his team could have asked of him. He made some excellent passes (3 assists), used his 6-11 wingspan to get his hands on a ton of balls (11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals), drew plenty of fouls and was incredibly active for every second he was on the court. And of course the crowd absolutely loved him for it. If Powell can somehow find himself a legit 3-point shot, he’s definitely got a chance to land on someone’s roster eventually. In this game he missed both of his two 3-point attempts and only converted 6 of 12 foul shots.