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Portland Trail Blazers: It’s time for CJ McCollum to step up

By Stevie Cozens

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 07: Portland Trail Blazers Guard CJ McCollum (3) looks on during a NBA game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Los Angeles Clippers on November 7, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 07: Portland Trail Blazers Guard CJ McCollum (3) looks on during a NBA game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Los Angeles Clippers on November 7, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CJ McCollum has had an up and down season for the Portland Trail Blazers. But with Damian Lillard injured, it’s time for CJ to step up.

CJ McCollum hasn’t a bad year for the Portland Trail Blazers this year. He has been up and down and came back from a rough start to the year to be sitting close to a lot of his career averages.

CJ can be streaky, though he is a 20 point per game guy and has been for five straight years, he can be very up and down. He takes a lot of jumpers and although he is usually near the top of the league when it comes to efficiency, if his shot isn’t dropping then he struggles to impact the game.

Because he almost never gets to the line, he relies heavily on his mid range and three-point shot for most of his points. Again, CJ is a great scorer and shooter, but with Dame down, the Blazers need him to be huge in this stretch if they are to stay in the playoff hunt.

Now needed in more of an on-ball role, CJ will have to get the rim more often so the opposition respect the Blazers outside shot. With an uptick in usage for shooters Gary Trent Jr and Anfernee Simons, CJ will be the only guard who can finish competently at the rim.

He will be playing more minutes and will need to make sure the Blazers don’t fall back any further from the ninth-seed.

He may have to increase his three-point volume, as a 39.8 percent shooter from three this shouldnt be a worry. With other less efficient options in house though, a lot of Dame’s volume needs to go through CJ.

The same with the play-making duties, CJ can setup others when he needs to. He doesn’t have the developing chemistry in the pick and roll with Hassan Whiteside that Dame does, but he is competent as a playmaker. He will often find Trent / Simons or Ariza in the corner if he can come off a strong screen from Whiteside.

CJ’s free-throw percentage and field-goal percentage have been a bit lower than he would like the last few months. His three-point efficiency is saving him in this regard but he will just need to be better across the board.

Pick and roll ball handler is CJ’s go to play-type, whether it be with Ariza or Whiteside he needs to use this often to get open and get his shot off. He uses this play-type on 35 percent of his possessions at a strong success rate of 44 percent.

HIs second unit role use will change with CJ’s minutes not staggered as much. Simons will run the second unit with CJ rested sparingly in these minutes.

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CJ is one of the rare players who has shown an ability to increase his scoring average in the playoffs when the stakes are at their highest. If he has a playoff mode that he can activate to get this team some more wins while Dame is away, then now is the time to push the button.

He is the most experienced player behind Ariza and the longest tenured Blazer with Lillard out. As their playoff hopes are as good as over if there are more losses, it’s now or never. It would be great if CJ could inspire this team to a few more wins before his running mate Lillard comes back.