from the man that was the inspiration for gems such as...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjBOaIZt8jg

we finally have some game time in the league

small sample size so far, but some strengths and weaknesses

http://ripcityproject.com/2014/01/19/cj-mccollum-portland-trail-blazers-nba-debut-assessment/

"Rookie guard CJ McCollum has now contributed to five straight Trail Blazer victories, with varying levels of production. It�s easy to see why the Trail Blazers selected him with the 10th overall pick, though his talents will remain restricted to the bench this season, barring serious injury. He�s displayed areas of specialty, but has simultaneously exposed areas of his game that need improvement.

Where McCollum Excels

Spot up shooting: CJ McCollum played a lot of point guard at Lehigh, but Terry Stotts has plugged him in at shooting guard in Portland. McCollum has adjusted well to finding his shot without the ball in his hands. Already a capable three-point shooter, he has taken to the Trail Blazers offense immediately and knows how to get open. He is able to catch and shoot quickly. This is of utmost importance since, like Wesley Matthews, he will be the recipient of swing passes more often than he will get his own chance to pull up in most Trail Blazers sets.

Scoring in traffic: CJ McCollum has one shot in his repertoire that I wish Damian Lillard would pickup; the floater. Driving to get the call is useful when the whistles are going your way, but when they�re not you need to be able to finish. McCollum uses a hang dribble to penetrate and can score over larger opponents with high arcing touch. He can also stop on a dime to pull up instead. The latter is already a Mo Williams trademark, and both allow a split second advantage over unsuspecting defenders.

Fighting through screens: We haven�t seen McCollum play enough to determine his initial value as an overall defender, but I have been watching him closely on screens since icing the pick and roll is the cornerstone of Portland�s defense. He seems capable of fighting through hard picks without losing too much ground on his man. This is something that Williams and Lillard struggle with at times, though sample size would suggest that McCollum won�t be perfect in this regard either.

Where McCollum Struggles

Play making: McCollum doesn�t seem as confident as I thought he would be with the ball in his hands. When there is time on the shotclock to burn, his brain looks like it�s working a mile a minute while his physical reaction speed slows in accordance. McCollum is nervous with the reigns. If he�s not looking to score right away, he�s too eager to make a pass that may not necessarily be the right one. I�d like him to take better stock of defensive positioning before moving the ball.

Court Awareness: This will come with time, but for right now it�s noticeable enough to mention. McCollum knows how to move to get himself open, but his route can draw unwanted defenders to parts of the floor where teammates are trying to operate. On occasion, Mo Williams can be seen correcting him on the court, so I don�t anticipate this being an issue much longer. CJ McCollum is a quick study.

Through his first five contests, McCollum has averaged 5.8 points in 13.6 minutes per game. Though his action has been limited and scoring is not the end-all-be-all, it is worth noting that he is scoring more points than Mo Williams per 36 minutes, with much higher efficiency. If that trend continues while McCollum works on his shortcomings, the Trail Blazers will have to re-balance minute allocation to favor his development.

Overall, CJ McCollum has done well in his first little stretch of NBA action. He�s a bit shaky, but no more than can be expected from a rookie that sat out for one year with repeated injury. Moving forward, his primary job will be to score off the bench, and he�s shown that he can do that handily. McCollum introduced more positives than negatives to an already successful team and he�ll only get better from here on out."

Obviously, health is a major concern in CJ's rookie year. With Wes and Mo getting the majority of the minutes at starting SG and first guard off the bench, he's going to have to keep competing and improving just to get minutes. I'm looking for CJ to be POR's Jamal Crawford when it's all said and done (hopefully by playoff time) = first man in off the bench, getting a lot more minutes and just chucking when he runs with the 2nd unit.

Pulling for this kid!

He's had some struggles, but he's had some nice moments considering that he wasn't able to play in the preseason or so far this year. I'm optimistic, and with the Blazers' starting guards locked in for at least a few more years, there's not very much pressure.... not to mention 6th man suits his skillset very well as a scorer.

a bit of a log jam at the 2 in POR

w/Afflalo and Matthews

if they stay in POR, some team can use this kid at the 2

he finally looks healthy

and put some good defenders on skates last night

and oh yeah...LEHIGH BEAT DUKE!

The Blazers roster is built to win this year. These injuries are breaking my fucking heart.

Always hard for guards to recover their confidence from multiple injuries early in their career, but I'm still hopeful. Hell of a player.

than normal with Matthews out

i.e., CJ should be at 25mpg until Wes comes back

Blake is a solid vet

but his minutes would be better used by CJ IMO

unfortunately, it was against the steaming pile of dog$hit LAL

but yeah, he can fill up a stat sheet given the minutes

IMO, >>> Afflalo

Wright and Afflalo

looks like CJ is set to whoo ride in the 'offs

I'm looking for him to parlay this end of the season up tick in production

into the most improved player next season

shine

he did make his FTs though

35min, 18pts on 12 shots, and the nail in the coffin 3 to put PDX up 91-88

his drives to the rim were unstoppable

what offense is PDX running?

I get the impression that Coach Stotz doesn't have much of an offensive system

ironic that TNT is running these 'new' hero ball promos

while it looks like that's all that PDX runs

ALOT of dribbling and shooting, not alot of passing.

that is

being given the minutes over the last month or so

it's obvious this kid COULD start for any number of teams

I do think his game is way too similar to Dame's for him to stay in POR though

if I'm a GM, and I need a PG

I'm on the horn to POR right now.

GREAT close to season for CJ (that's how you make $$$ Rondo)

and I'll take all of his stock from here

since nobody really showed interest

given the minutes, homie balled out!

I actually like what POR decided to do

they weren't winning a chip with that roster

especially in the west

dump as much salary as you can

let these cats that have been dying for minutes get their shot

and go into FA 16' with as much cap space as possible

it will be interesting to see how the backcourt combo of CJ and Dame plays out this season

if it's a guard's league, they've got a solid backcourt IMO

but the rest of that roster is getting no shots

and from the looks of it, that may be intentional

2 jackers, and a roster of garbage men.

campaign

If given the minutes, see reply 2

MIP 16', see reply 7, should be his...

I honestly didn't think he would stick in POR with Dame being featured more

Looking for CJ to improve on D and if POR can add some talent in FA, they look ready to make a run next year*

*place holder for the potential 1St round LAC series

He was so obviously a monster in college. Any time you have a kid who can shoot that efficiently, can handle that smoothly, can be that quick, has the IQ to make the right play at the right time, be it passing or shooting... and lives for the big moment the way this kid does? I mean, that's everything you want in an NBA guard.

I guess people were worried about health due to how his college career ended and then the early pro injuries on top of it... or maybe they thought that Duke game was a Joe Alexander/Derrick Williams-esque fluke. I don't know.

But yeah, that kid's a monster. He'll only get better too. As long as he can stay on the court, he's golden.

to the NBA. then starting out with the injuries and the logjam in Portland's backcourt it wasn't really clear if and when he'd have the opportunity to really show what he can do. glad he got his chance though, he's a fun player to watch.

I really enjoy watching him play now, if the Blazers get a good big they will be real nice.

Congrats.

Can't go outright upset, based on the LAC's depth

I think theyir bench will get them past POR

but I really like the matchups for POR TBH

I don't see how they can contain CJ and Dame

they're going to have to double, probably with Mbah a Moute

but they can't double both guys, and JJ is gonna get fried by CJ

I'm looking for him to do big things in this series = +20PPG

LAC probably give more tic to Austin if it gets too out of hand

I have no idea what to expect from the LAC

they looked fatigued at times to close out the season

I think the announcement of Blake's return saw an increase in energy

but I haven't been able to see him play yet

and I don't think you just throw him out there and get regular production from him out of the gate

probably takes them 2-3 games to get rolling

POR takes the 1st game in LA

the LAC fire every shot in their holster to win the series

enter the 2nd round a steaming pile of dogshit

CP70+

CJ set to whoo ride

Back to back 30 point games

...and the career defining game...

Shouts to the homie

Nice win here.