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The Portland Trail Blazers had one All-Star snub in Damian Lillard, but you couldn’t exactly call his production this season as being MVP quality. If the Blazers still had LaMarcus Aldridge, then they would be playoff bound and Lillard would’ve gotten some more love from the coaches.
There is one player though who kind of came out of nowhere to help the Blazers remain relevant. That man is C.J. McCollum. He has filled the scoring void left by Aldridge, and the shooting guard’s impact has been felt in several areas.
McCollum is averaging 20.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. He has displayed surprising versatility for someone who came out of Lehigh University. The other important aspect of his play is how efficient he’s been. He’s shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from three-point land and 80.5 percent from the line. That is an impressive shooter, and defenses have started reacting and allowing him to raise his numbers as a playmaker.
McCollum will never get the headlines or endorsements that Lillard does, but the Blazers will need both of those guys to build a winner going forward. They are far away from being a contender after the departure of Aldridge, but if they can add a formidable big man in the offseason, a turnaround could be possible.
Don’t overlook McCollum’s production due to the injury issues from his early career. People forget that Stephen Curry had severe ankle problems before becoming who he is today. Comparing Curry and McCollum would normally be a fool’s errand, but C.J. has the similar ability of Stephen’s to shoot the ball at a high level. McCollum will never be NBA MVP, but he could aid the Blazers return to playoff glory if they make quality decisions in the next couple years. Let’s see if Portland can take advantage of their pleasantly surprising guard play.
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