It seems like just the other day that the Portland Trail Blazers were starting to garner some steam as a legitimate dark horse championship contender. Newly acquired super-sub Arron Afflalo was acclimating himself well to the lineup, and the Blazers were putting the screws to the Dallas Mavericks, on their way to a 5-game winning streak, with four of the five wins coming against fellow Western Conference playoff teams. Things were looking up in Rip City.
Then, with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Wesley Matthews crumpled to the floor in agony after what seemed to be a routine cut to the hoop. Torn Achilles tendon. Season over. Just like that, that magical feeling that was starting to build around the Rose City evaporated, and the ol’ Blazer tradition of getting fans hopes up, only to crush them in dramatic fashion, perked up once again.
So, when Wesley Matthews went down, taking just about any realistic chances of a fairy-tale run with him, it was a tough pill for Blazer fans to swallow. Sure, there was still a lot to play for, but, Blazer fans wanted more than just another playoff appearance. They were ready to watch the calendar flip to June with games still left on the schedule for the first time in nearly 25 years. It was within their grasp. They could taste it.
Of course, when you’re a Blazer fan, you become well versed in getting your hopes up, and watching them get dashed right before your eyes. It’s almost a rite of passage. A terrible, wretched, miserable, soul-crushing, heart-breaking rite of passage.
If you’re going to survive these moments as a fan, it takes more than a healthy dose of optimism. Maybe not quite Chicago Cubs-level optimism, but, not far behind. If you’re going to be a lifelong Blazer fan, it’s probably best that you work on finding the silver lining in things.
This year, that silver lining is already starting to show itself in the form of the recent, and somewhat unexpected, development of CJ McCollum.
Maybe unexpected isn’t the right word, as just before the trade deadline McCollum had his best stretch of the season. However, as the team was looking to make a championship push, they smartly made a move to acquire Arron Afflalo, a veteran shooting guard capable of bringing the consistent scoring punch the bench had been sorely lacking over the past couple seasons.
With that move, McCollum was once again relegated to spot duty off the bench and the inconsistent minutes that go with it. It looked as if the young lottery pick was looking at yet another lost season full of garbage time and ____.
Now, though, with Afflalo replacing Matthews in the starting lineup, McCollum has found himself in the __ playoff rotation as an integral part of the bench offense. Heck, he may even me the integral part of the bench offense.
Being forced to rely on a young, mostly inexperienced player like McCollum may not be what the Blazers or their fans were hoping for come playoff time, but, the minutes he’s going to get down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs are going to be invaluable to his development.
If he’s able to rise to the occasion (as his nearly 15 ppg on over 50% shooting over the last 4 seem to indicate), it’s not inconceivable that today’s brutal injury may give way to tomorrow’s next great Blazer bench scorer.
At least, that was a big part of the thinking that went into drafting the wily vet (by college standards) out of Lehigh. The Blazers were, and largely still are, looking for a dynamic scoring guard off the bench. The kind of player who can both keep the offense humming when Lillard gets a breather, as well as forming a devastating scoring backcourt while playing some minutes alongside the Blazers All-Star guard.
As solid as Steve Blake has been running the Blazers second unit this season, he just doesn’t put the same level of pressure on a defense that a multi-dimensional scorer like McCollum can. And, while Arron Afflalo’s bench scoring was a godsend when he was added to the roster, he’s not exactly a perfect fit for the team’s needs. He’s a proficient scorer, which is huge for the Blazers offensively challenged bench, but, he doesn’t possess the ball-handling and playmaking ability of the prototypical third guard. While the second year guard isn’t quite there yet, he’s shown the ability to do those “third guard-y” type things in his first two seasons in the league.
Still, both Afflalo and Blake are veteran guards who are often better options for Coach Terry Stotts, if for no other reason than their consistency. For better or worse, you know exactly what you are going to get with those guys. That’s huge to a coach, particularly one who is trying to prepare a team for a deep playoff run.
But, there’s no substitute for playing time when it comes to developing in the NBA, and with the injury to Wesley Matthews leaving a big hole in the Blazers’ offense, and Will Barton shipped off to Denver, Stotts has no choice but to give CJ McCollum his first real chance to get playoff type minutes down the stretch of this season. In fact, he’ll likely get as much of it as he can handle. From there, it’s up to him to make the most of this potentially career defining opportunity.
He’s already shown that he possesses the skill and ability to be that third guard that the Blazers have been searching for since Danny Ainge in the early 90’s. That much is clear, as evidenced by his career high 23 points just the two nights ago against the league’s top team in the Golden State Warriors. Now he just needs to add maybe the hardest “skill” of all: consistency.
So, while Matthews’s injury may have dealt a death blow to the Blazers championship aspirations in 2015, it may not be all doom and gloom in Rip City. Instead, it could prove to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise if it ends up being the springboard needed to launch McCollum’s career. At least, if you’re the type who is inclined to look for silver linings.
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