The Portland Trail Blazers already have a star point guard in Damian Lillard and hope to retain his backcourt mate, soon-to-be free-agent shooting guard Wesley Matthews, who might be the team’s most valuable player. Given the franchise’s desire to keep this duo intact, backup guard C.J. McCollum is left with less than ideal minutes. While that might be the case, he has the chance to be similarly important to the team’s success. And Portland should take note of his growth this past season and make sure he is as integral a piece to the puzzle as possible.
McCollum, selected by Portland 10th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, stepped up down the stretch this season as the Blazers jockeyed for playoff seeding. He did so after Matthews went down with a torn Achilles on March 5th against Dallas, particularly flourishing in April, the regular season’s final month. Portland struggled during this nine-game stretch, but the 6’4″ guard out of Lehigh University did not, scoring in double-figures seven times, including games of 26 and 27 points. He accomplished all of this, equating to an average of 15 points per game, by shooting 40 percent from three-point range and 53 percent overall from the floor. Frustrating defenses with an aggressive mindset, both on drives inside and through a confident perimeter stroke, he looked like a more selective version of Damian Lillard.
This efficiency continued into the playoffs. After struggling in Games 1 and 2 of Portland’s series against Memphis, McCollum averaged 25 points per game over the final three games. During this span, he shot no worse than 57 percent from the field and was economical with his shot selection, taking an average of 16 shots per game. This sample size is small; so is that of his regular season production. And yet, what he is capable of could play a role in how Portland maps out their offseason plans.
McCollum isn’t going to shoot 60 percent every game, nor score 10 more points than shots attempted, but he a knack for scoring in bunches. The growing trust in his ability was glaring over the final two months–a bright spot during what was an overall difficult stretch with Matthews in a walking boot. That brings up a question that may not be popular amongst Blazers fans, but needs to be asked: should Portland forgo the risk that is re-signing Matthews and put all their eggs in McCollum’s basket as the shooting guard of the future?
McCollum hasn’t shown enough to warrant that extreme measure, and all indications point to Portland making every effort to bring Matthews back. Nonetheless, the front office would be foolish not to consider alternatives.
Portland doesn’t know what’s going to happen with Matthews, their heart and soul, nor what kind of player he would be post-injury. They do know what they have in McCollum, though, who proved his worth filling a role the team never thought would feature anyone but Matthews. That role might not be McCollum’s going forward, but an increased one should be in the cards for a player who could be a difference-maker for years to come.
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