Portland Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum is stepping up in Lillard’s absence

CJ McCollum has really stepped up for the Portland Trail Blazers in Damian Lillard’s absence. Can the veteran guard keep this going when Dame returns?

CJ McCollum‘s spectacular play over the last six games has been a real bright spot in Damian Lillard‘s absence. Though the Portland Trail Blazers haven’t won all the games they needed to, CJ has shown again that he is one of the best guards in the league.

It’s not easy to stand out in Dame’s shadow. Not only is he the greatest Blazer of all-time, he also had one of the greatest offensive runs in NBA history in January. A tough act to follow. It seems like CJ quite often has Dame type expectations on his shoulders. But Dame is a hall-of-famer and one of the greatest shooters ever, CJ isn’t him.

This last six games though, CJ has gone far beyond the call of duty. Putting the team on his back and keeping them competitive. People will mention the two and four record with Dame out, but then this team had a two and four record prior to the break with Dame anyway.

What has been unexpected with Dame out, has been CJ’s playmaking. He is a good passer, but when he plays with Dame, often the lack of a third option means that CJ has to score almost every time down when he has the ball.

With Dame out though, he has been able to score heavily while also setting up guys like Hassan Whiteside and Gary Trent Jr. Trent has almost doubled his point total from prior to the break, and has scored plenty of times from a CJ pass. CJ’s 8.3 assists a game over these six games is one of the best marks of his career. This also includes a 12-assist effort against the Detroit Pistons, a career high.

CJ’s splits since the All-star break are detailed below – very impressive.

Quite often when a player increases his shot attempts, his efficiency decreases. In CJ’s case, he has actually got more efficient with Dame out. Shooting almost 50 percent from two as well, is strong for a small guard. He has taken and made more threes, while being supremely confident in his shot.

Interestingly, CJ actually has his best shooting months in March. Across his career, this time of the year he shoots 46.8% from the field and 42.7% from three.

The next question is, can his strong play in March continue when Dame returns against the Washington Wizards? Obviously the assists and extra shot attempts won’t continue when Dame returns. But if he can continue his shot-making, then this team may be able to go on the amazing run they need to make the playoffs.

CJ and Dame both need to go supersonic through March if the Blazers are to have any chance of making the playoffs. CJ’s three-pointer is one of the best weapons this team has, he needs to hit 40 percent for the rest of the season to give this team a chance at winning over half their games.

The reinforcements of Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins don’t look like they are returning till at least the end of the month, so our guard pairing need to do most of the heavy lifting.

It would be such a shame if this team were to miss the playoffs with Dame and CJ in their primes.  It seems doubtful now that they do make the playoffs, as they haven’t been able to beat the weak teams in the recent stretch of play. But with Dame returning, it wouldn’t be smart to count them out all together.