MILWAUKEE—It is a harsh reality of life in the NBA that not everyone can play, and when the chance to produce comes it has to be seized.

So there sits Norm Powell at the moment, a once-vital cog in the Raptors rotation who’s been reduced lately to a standby role, fed limited minutes every now and then because the guys ahead of him are playing well.

Delon Wright has been solid, Fred VanVleet has been solid, OG Anunoby has been solid, and the simple fact is there’s no time for Powell.

“It’s one of those situations you want to play everybody, but it’s almost impossible,” coach Dwane Casey said before the Raptors faced the Bucks on Friday night. “What he’s got to do is be professional and stay ready for his opportunity, because his opportunity is going to come. I keep saying that. Everybody is going to get an opportunity . . . but you better be ready to step in and take that opportunity and produce when you do get it.”

And that’s another part of the Powell saga.

Casey ran him out for a couple of minutes in the second quarter of Wednesday’s game in Chicago, and whether it was Powell’s fault or not doesn’t matter. Things didn’t go well for the Raptors when he played.

“We (were) trying to get him some minutes to get him an opportunity. When you do get those minutes you have to produce,” Casey said. “Fortunately or unfortunately, Chicago was going on a run. He was a minus-6 in that situation, minus-12 overall. When you get those minutes you have to go in and say: Hey, this is my time to shine.”

Powell has seen his minutes fluctuate dramatically in his three years with the Raptors, so the last couple of weeks can’t be any surprise to him. His teammates feel for him, but there’s not much they can do.

“He’s always been up and down, in and out of the lineup,” Kyle Lowry said. “I think he consistently stays ready as a professional athlete and does his job. It’s just a tough spot for him to be in right now.

“He’s so good and talented, but right now coach is going with a different rotation. You never know when he will be called upon, so he has to stay right.”

GREEK PEAK: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo’s connection with NBA fans worldwide was proved this week when the league announced he’s the leading vote-getter for the NBA all-star game, Feb. 18 in Los Angeles. The Bucks forward had a narrow lead of 7,336 votes on Cleveland’s LeBron James, and both were far ahead of Western Conference leader Kevin Durant. “As far as going against one of the best of all time in LeBron, that says a lot for Giannis, where he is in the voting and how fans feel about him,” Casey said. “To see him No. 1 is surprising.”

BYE BYE BRADLEY: Barring a playoff rematch with Milwaukee this spring, the Raptors played their final game ever in the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Friday night. The Bucks are moving to a new, 17,500-seat, $524-million (U.S.) arena next door for the 2018-19 season. Headin in, Toronto was 16-25 overall playing in the aging facility, which opened in 1988.