Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum is one of the many players that is itching to get back to practice facilities to get shots up
Novel coronavirus has thrown just about all of us out of our element, forcing life changes left and right. That’s true for NBA players as well, including Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum.
McCollum is in a strange predicament that could only be caused by a situation as rare as this in which he’s been unable to shoot a basketball for a month and a half now.
Speaking to Rachel Nichols on The Jump, McCollum said:
"“No, I’m not [getting shots up], this is the longest I’ve ever gone without shooting. It’s crazy, because when you buy a house in the city you know, depending on where you’re playing at, usually you try to make it close to the practice facility or close to the arena, and you have 24 hour access. I have the finger scanner, I usually just scan myself in when I want to go work out. And now that’s been taken away from me so I’ve been kind of reevaluating my circumstances in the situation.”"
The NBA has been suspended since March 11th, meaning McCollum hasn’t shot since around that date.
A basketball hoop isn’t necessarily viewed as a right of passage for the upper class. Hoops are found in every neighborhood and owned by families that come from all walks of life. Players, though, often living in dense, urban areas and perhaps without driveways, often don’t have hoops at home.
Some teams and players have gone as far as buying hoops for players and teammates like Jimmy Butler did for his Miami Heat coaches and teammates.
Others, like McCollum, wait on the NBA opening practice facilities back up, letting them get to work. According to recent reports, that will happen no sooner than May 8.
McCollum, a career 39.7 percent 3-point shooter, is a player the Blazers will need to have playing at a high level. His shooting will be necessary, should the season resume, as the Blazers were in the middle of a playoff push when the season unexpectedly halted.
McCollum pointed out in his interview with Nichols that Portland had two remaining games against Memphis, and suggested that whoever won those probably would have found themselves in the postseason.
The Blazers may find themselves on the outside looking in, however, if the league decides to move right to the playoffs rather than putting on a play-in tournament for the final playoff slot.
Currently, the Blazers at 29-37 sit at ninth overall behind the Grizzlies, 32-33 for the final playoff spot.
Hopefully, it is deemed safe and healthy by medical professionals and the league soon enough so that players can get back to doing what they do best.