The Portland Trail Blazers team MVP to this point is without a doubt Damian ... wait (looks over team statistics) ... check that.
It’s actually CJ McCollum, who scored 28 points in Portland’s 123-98 win at Golden State on Friday.
Five games into the season, McCollum is off to the most consistent start of anyone on the Blazers (3-2). Should his current trajectory continue, McCollum for the first time in his career could become a viable All-Star candidate in the Western Conference, filled with elite guards, including All-Star teammate, Damian Lillard.
A comparison of the two:
- Points per game: McCollum, 28. Lillard, 25.2.
- Field goal percentage: McCollum, 45.9%. Lillard, 42.9%
- Three-point percentage: McCollum, 45.5%. Lillard, 35.4%.
- Effective field goal percentage: McCollum, 57.8%. Lillard, 52.2%.
- Assists: Lillard, 6.6. McCollum, 5.8.
- Rebounds: Lillard, 4.4. McCollum, 3.
- Steals: McCollum, 1.6. Lillard 0.8.
- Turnovers: McCollum, 0.6. Lillard, 3.2.
Of course, this all could change over the course of a couple of games. Lillard justifiably receives more attention from opposing defenses, which has created opportunities for McCollum. The important factor here is that McCollum is making teams pay for doubling, trapping or blitzing Lillard. McCollum is routinely destroying single defenders. This is not unusual. McCollum has done this before. But not at this level and rarely this early in the season.
None of this is by accident. McCollum, who got married during the offseason, said he has been at peace personally for some time and his family deflects stress away from him so he can focus on his job.
“I work hard, I go to the gym in the morning, I go to gym at night,” he said. “I overly prepare so I can have nights where I hit seven threes, I can have nights when I hit eight threes consistently because I’ve put the work in. It’s just more of a mindset, understanding who I am as a player. I know what I’m capable of and I want to consistently do that every night and I think that based on the work, I will.”
McCollum, Portland’s backup point guard behind Lillard, said he has worked on his playmaking abilities.
“I think I’m good enough to score and make people better,” McCollum said.
Portland forward Carmelo Anthony, who on Friday became the 14th all-time leading scorer in NBA history, said McCollum appears locked in on his game.
“I see the joy that he’s having,” Anthony said. “He’s really enjoying the game right now and playing at a pace where he feels very confident and very comfortable ... You can see a different spark. You see a different mindset that he has in every game. He’s in attack mode, and when he’s in attack mode he’s unstoppable. And we’re all witnessing that.”
Lillard said he constantly encourages McCollum to be aggressive.
“I know when he’s playing that way and when his mentality is like that, we’re going to be the best version of ourselves as a team,” Lillard said. “And it’s also going to loosen things up for me.”
The payoff, beyond McCollum simply producing at a high volume, should be that opponents will have to pick their poison rather than focus so much on Lillard.
So, what exactly are his chances of making the All-Star team? Not great.
All-Star guards from the Western Conference last season were Houston’s James Harden, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul, Houston’s Russell Westbrook and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell. Lillard was named to the team but did not play because he was injured.
Westbrook is now in the Eastern Conference with Washington, but everyone else on that list will be in play again this season. Paul is now with Phoenix.
Golden State’s Klay Thompson, a five-time All-Star, is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. However, Stephen Curry, a six-time All-Star, is back after playing in just five games last season. Memphis guard Ja Morant is a threat to make the All-Star team but is out for a few weeks after injuring his ankle.
That’s a tough field to break into. Chances are that McCollum cools off a bit at some point. But maybe not by much. He appears to have found a new level of comfort as a player. According to McCollum, 29, with age, comes wisdom.
“I’m at that point,” he said, “where I really know how to play basketball and it’s kind of coming together, nicely.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress(Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress(Facebook).
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