Portland Trail Blazers Must Take Advantage Of C.J. McCollum’s Multiple Talents


Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, it’s only summer basketball and yes, most of the NBA’s best players aren’t participating.

But the Portland Trail Blazers have to be smiling over the recent performance of their No. 1 draft pick C.J McCollum.

Taken No. 10 in the draft from Lehigh, McCollum is obviously going to have to prove himself of being a true NBA performer. This isn’t Lehigh and he’s not playing Lehigh’s opponents any longer. McCollum played a key role in his team’s 70-69 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday; McCollum scored a good chunk of the Trail Blazers points with 19. His outside shooting was excellent and he never hesitated from taking charge on the court.

So far, McCollum has shown that his scoring ability is the real thing and for that reason, the Trail Blazers are gong to see where they can put him in the lineup so they can utilize his talents. What it appears that they’re going to do with McCollum is have him as a scorer and passer who is extremely effective in getting his teammates involved in the game. A player who can do both is an incredibly valuable weapon to have.

In other words, he’ll be a point guard/shooter all wrapped into one, and will create additional challenges for the defense trying to figure on how to slow him down. If he continues to have success with this during the preseason, the Trail Blazers are going to drool over the additional weapons they can boast with their offense.

 


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