Mailbag: C.J. McCollum – career ceiling & injury update
By David MacKay
If you would like to see your questions addressed in next week’s edition of Mailbag Monday, email them to ripcityproject@fansided.com. I am always happy to hear from you. For more information, check out the introductory article. This week, readers are interested in C.J. McCollum.
"What do you think is C.J. McCollum’s career ceiling, and what do you think is the most likely outcome?– Alex G."
In my mind, McCollum’s ceiling is a larger, but slower Jason Terry—a shooting guard with point guard handles that can score efficiently from deep and force turnovers on defense. Not the Atlanta point guard Terry, but the Terry of the mid-2000s that transitioned to shooting guard and eventually won Sixth Man of the Year with Dallas. A guy that can give you 15+ points a night with three or four assists, regardless of a starting/bench role that, in McCollum’s case, has yet to be determined.
That would certainly be a ways down the road, but not unreasonable. A great deal depends on how the Trail Blazers elect to use him. If, for instance, they cannot retain Wesley Matthews in free agency next summer and McCollum is thrust into the starting lineup, we could see him meet his potential sooner than later. On the other hand, if he spends his early career relegated to the bench between injuries, he may end up as a more efficient version of Randy Foye, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.
I tend to believe he will grow into a starting caliber player. It is difficult to imagine that someone with such a well-rounded and still developing offensive skill set would plateau at a low level of utility. It would be nice if he could stay on the court though. I’m sure no one is more frustrated with his annual bone breaking than he is. We will just have to keep waiting to see what happens with him, but there is no reason not to be cautiously optimistic.
"Has there been any recent news about C.J.’s finger? Severity? A timetable? Anything? He was just starting to heat up when he broke it. How did that happen anyway?-Kristen L."
The most recent news came from Trail Blazers Beat Writer Casey Holdahl. McCollum’s right index finger is broken in three places, but will not require surgery. He is going to keep it in a cast and will be reevaluated in four (now three) weeks.
Via the
As McCollum states, the injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans game on November 17th. He grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled by Pelicans’ shooting guard Eric Gordon. Nothing egregious, just an awkward angle. He stayed in the game to make his free throws, but knew something was wrong when he couldn’t make a fist.
Here is a brief clip of the play, courtesy of Jabari Young, Comcast SportNet.
Although McCollum will be reevaluated in mid-December, I would be a little surprised if he played before Christmas day. For some frame of reference on a timetable, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving sustained a less severe fracture in 2012 and was set to be reevaluated two weeks later. He ended up missing more than three weeks. McCollum will likely not return upon reevaluation either, nor will he recover as quickly. I remain hopeful that he will play again before New Years.