Last year, the Blazers backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were determined to be one of the best in the business. Despite putting up similar numbers, this backcourt doesn’t look nearly as good this year. When I say they don’t look as good this year, I mean they aren’t winning games. In fact, they just suck.
CJ McCollum Stats
As I mentioned, CJ McCollum’s numbers are very similar to last year’s numbers. He is currently averaging 21.7 PPG on 45.1% shooting, 3.8 APG, and 4.2 RPG. His numbers have actually improved slightly since last year. He is second on the Blazers for scoring and assists. So what is the issue here? Despite playing slightly better this year, what has changed?
Well unfortunately for CJ McCollum, the problem is him and not him at the same time. He is strictly a scoring guard, and Damian Lillard isn’t exactly known for his defense either. But this Blazers team is worse defensively this year. That is due to pieces lost and injuries, but the statement stands. The rest of the Blazers team cannot pick up his slack on defense anymore. He is a liability on defense. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing usually. That is the case for the Blazers, who can score on anyone. However, they can score but not play any defense. The lack of defense causes them to lose games, therefore CJ causes them to lose games.
Oddly enough, the 76ers problem is they have too much defense and not enough scoring. A simple swap of a couple of players involving Cj McCollum could do both teams some justice. Seeing as how the 76ers are buyers at the trade deadline for some scoring/shooting, the fit is there. I posted this on twitter and practically got flamed for the suggestion of a CJ McCollum and Al Horford swap (with other pieces of course). It seems like common sense to me. Damian Lillard can carry a team offensively, but this Blazers team needs defense bad. As sad as it is, CJ just isn’t a good fit for this Blazers team.
