Portland Trail Blazers: Playing “hot or cold” on the Blazers’ 2020-21 award aspirations

No. 1: CJ McCollum’s first All-Star appearance —— HOT

Here’s the bold prediction for the year. This isn’t necessarily to say that CJ McCollum will be a first-time All-Star this season. But hypothetically speaking, if he does what he’s always done — a classic 23-point, 4-rebound, 5-assist season on 45-percent shooting — that would be a wind-up capable of giving him as strong a puncher’s chance as he’s had in his career.

Think about some of the barriers that have kept McCollum from said honors in the past. The All-Stars that were recognized in the past were perennial, meaning the Blazers star often found himself tasked with getting ahead of mainstays such as Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Klay Thompson on a year-to-year basis.

That challenge potentially becomes easier in 2020-21. McCollum is no longer competing against Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers; this is 34-year-old, third-team-in-four-years Chris Paul.

Add in Thompson’s season-ending Achilles tear and a trade that shipped Westbrook to the Eastern Conference, and that leaves a competition that won’t be as dicey as in years past. Here’s how it stacks up by my count:

The locks: Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard (phew, who would’ve thought?), James Harden, Stephen Curry
The competition: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, John Wall, D’Angelo Russell, DeMar DeRozan

McCollum has already checked the first two boxes an All-Star needs to have: a storyline and popularity. Here’s a fact I came across through research. There’s only one player in NBA history with a higher PPG average than McCollum (18.5), that doesn’t have an All-Star Game appearance, either: Andrew Wiggins.

Even in spite of playing in Oregon’s small market, it’s been proven that with an elite enough record, the Blazers can produce two All-Stars in the same season. Remember how close McCollum came in 2017, when his efficiency numbers rivaled that of Larry Bird and Stephen Curry? Pair that with the Blazers being, say, a top-four team in the West. And watch the chatter begin.

Things could get even more intriguing between now and February. With each passing party song, the James Harden trade rumors continue to intensify. And, it’s still mostly unclear as to how soon-to-be-33-year-old Stephen Curry’s body will hold up without a definitive co-star. Here’s to hoping for excellent health, but it will be something to watch for.

McCollum will keep his name in discussions even if solely off his presence as a nightly SportsCenter threat. If he follows his efficiency goals and the Blazers get a few breaks going their way, All-Star recognition could be there for the taking.