C.J. McCollum blooming after years of frustration

C.J. McCollum gained national attention for his standout performance in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. It was the best basketball we have seen from him to date, giving many the impression that he is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. They may not be wrong. McCollum has been on the verge of real progress for years, but has been previously impeded by a multitude of injuries. He is just now beginning to capitalize on momentous opportunity. With the trust of his team and a clean bill of health, he should be a valuable contributor on a nightly basis soon enough.

Consider, for a moment, how much time he has spent mending broken bones dating all the way back to his senior year at Lehigh. On January 5, 2013, McCollum broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. He was able to practice at full speed again in April, 2013, three months after sustaining the injury.

McCollum was then drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers on June 27, 2013, and was able to take part in Las Vegas Summer League, wowing onlookers with a league-wide second-best 21 points per game. Unfortunately, any steam he was building quickly evaporated when he re-broke the same bone during training camp on October 5, 2013. He would miss another three months, making his NBA debut on January 8, 2014.

McCollum’s rookie year was a struggle. Head Coach Terry Stotts played him just over 12 minutes per game, as a primary rotation involving Mo Williams had been cemented in McCollum’s extended absence. He received inconsistent attention for much of the year while Stotts understandably focused on the veterans and an NBA Playoff berth. McCollum played sparsely in just 38 games.

When the 2014-15 season rolled around, he had to build any and all momentum from the ground up. His rocky start got rockier when he broke the index finger of his shooting hand just 11 games in. McCollum missed another month of action. At this point, he had been unable to prove himself to anyone because every flourish was met with a fracture. It then came as no surprise that he was buried on the bench when Portland Acquired Arron Afflalo at the trade deadline last February.

In the five games immediately following Afflalo’s activation, McCollum sat out four and played just over a minute in one. It was not until March 5th that his fortunes would change in the wake of a great catastrophe. When Wesley Matthews suffered a season ending Achilles tear, Afflalo was moved into the starting lineup and McCollum rejoined the rotation.

From that point on, McCollum turned on the gas, more than doubling his average points per game (4.8 to 10.9). His consistent scoring eventually earned him a larger role in the Trail Blazers’ aforementioned playoff series, where he averaged 17 points per game. This included a career-high 33-point performance in which he set the franchise record for most points off the bench in a playoff game, set the franchise record for most threes in a playoff game (7), and tied the franchise record for most threes in one quarter of a playoff game (4).

Now that we’re caught up to present day, consider this: Since breaking his foot in college, McCollum has played only nine months of competitive basketball and spent seven months recovering from injuries. That’s just absurd. Furthermore, consider that the time it takes to feel physically natural and mentally comfortable after breaking (especially re-breaking) a bone exceeds the length of an official timetable.

Such a small percentage of his professional career has been spent in top form and, thanks to some developmental attention and a stretch of good health, we are just beginning to see what that looks like. Does anyone recall that 2013 draft class survey prior to McCollum’s rookie season? The one where his peers voted him and Victor Oladipo into a tie for most likely to win Rookie of the Year? We may now be seeing what they thought he had potential to be.

C.J. McCollum highlights via FreeDawkins

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