Post Game Portland - Away

Wow 145 points with 31 each from Tatum and the Menace and hopefully a breakout game that can continue from Pritch and Nesmith. Tatum has his rythmn, attacking basket and hot from outside and in perfect form for LA game coming up. Marcus Smart is also finally stringing some very good offensive games together. Glad Kantor Freedom is getting minutes, guy can board and mix it up inside. On a night with no Al and foul trouble by RWill, he certainly was needed and came thru. As we know this team can be very inconsistent, but if we can get the kids 3 point shooting going and Tatum and Schroder are on, we can be a dangerous team even without Jaylen. On Jaylen, if he is not right, rest him vs LA, even rest him another 5-6 games if need be, but get him damn right. My gut feeling is they are using the wrong stretching methods and have overstretched him for awhile now.

I know I can call out the players and have when seeing things bad on the floor, but how lucky are we that our team is not in the state of the Trailblazers. With Lillard out, that team has absolutely nothing, and we have bitched about the 2 J’s. Feel sorry for that franchise, how did Lillard carry them over achieving for so many years? Our team can still be in such a great place when Jaylen comes back right and Tatum gets his game further figured out and consistent. The kids lighting it up regularly certainly could put us in contender position. I even like the way Bruno looked in garbage time, he can do everything Isaiah Stewart does, who is a legit starting center and is more athletic than him. Get healthy Jaylen.

We lost, in a very competitive game, to Utah the night before in part because they shot 52.9% (27-51).  Last night vs Portland we shot 56.8% from 3 (21-37) and it was a rout.  Aside from the obvious moral that "if you hit your shots you tend to win" I especially like the precision of the bounce back.  We lost by the 3, so we came back and won by the 3 the very next night.  No second guessing, no naval-gazing.  In fact, our 56.8% from 3 was slightly better than our 56.3% overall.

No Jaylen, no Al, no problem.  No Dame for them, and that's a huge loss, but it's made bigger because they don't dominate anywhere else on the court. If you don't have to overplay a Damien Lillard then you can play everybody else more straight up. Take away the riveting focus on Lillard whenever and wherever he is on the court and who on their team can take over?

Cowens said the Blazers are a mess without Lillard.  Maybe that's because they're too wing-centric?  Holiday, Middleton and Giannis; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  DWade, LeBron and Bosh; a guard, a transcendental wing and a big.  Parker, Manu and Duncan; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  Ray, Paul and KG; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  I don't know if it has to be the big that has to be transcendental, but it seems that you need a "Holy Shite!" player among the 3.  The Blazers have an amazing point guard in Dame.  Transcendental?  Hmmm.  Maybe. McCollum and Powell are fine players, but I don't see either of them as starters on a Championship team.  They're players that will come off the bench to chase a ring when they're on their back 9 and that's the only priority left to them.  Brad's mission is to be the team they want to come off the bench for when that day comes for them, like the way Danny made us the team House and Posey wanted to come to for a ring.  Fortunately, both the Js are young and will, hopefully, be in green for a while.  CJ is 30.  Powell is 28 1/2.  CJ is under contract until 2024, when he'll be 32, and then he'll be an unrestricted free agent.  The Js will still be under contract then.  Perfect.

Second straight big game for Jayson.  37 in Utah, 31 last night but, more importantly, a combined 21-42 in those two games and a combined 20-21 from the line.  Keep averaging double-digit frito attempts a game, Jayson, and we'll be good.




Season high for Payton Pritchard, playing before his hometown fans.  Lots of cheers from the crowd when he hit his shots.  He needed this game, obviously.  19 points on 6-12, 5-10 from 3.  3 assists and no turnovers.  The best part is the reaction of the bench after he hit his 3rd straight 3.  Schroder fell down on the floor in a fake faint and Grant went over and made believe he was giving him CPR.  At about the 1:50 mark.

Mark Murphy @Murf56
about 8 hours ago
Udoka not happy with that late-game team celebration of Pritchard's last 3-pointer. "Got a little out of hand to some extent with our guys getting over-zealous and getting a technical. I told them in the locker room to keep that professional." Later apologized to Chauncey Billups

I hope Ime had a bit of a smile on his face when he told them to calm down.  I understand apologizing to Billups, coach-to-coach, but if I'm Ime I'm having a bunch of laughs on the team bus to the airport.



Some disturbing comments by Pritchard on his post-game presser. He's frustrated, not understanding what he needs to do. At least that's how I read his comments. You?




Schroder lit them up.  He's inconsistent.  He has great games, like last night, and then he'll have games where he can't throw the ball in the ocean from the shore.  His reaction to Pritchard's 3rd 3 shows he's a good locker room guy.  8 assists and only 1 turnover.  He can do it all (including shoot you out of a game).




Nesmith with a good game too.  11 on 3-6, 3-4 from 3.  Both of these young'uns have been squeezed out of the rotation by Schroder and Richardson, and that has stunted their development a bit I think, so it's good to see they're still keeping their attitude correct (although I am now a bit concerned about Pritchard's).




Juancho with 15 minutes of 'meh'.  Bruno with 5 minutes of energy.  To me, it boils down to 'how badly do we need Juancho's 3s?'  Not that it matters, bigger picture, since neither of them are playing except in world-class blow outs.  

A lot of homecomings last night.  Enes (I'm sorry, I cannot call him 'Freedom' just as I couldn't call Ron Artest 'Metta World Peace'.  Those who have known me for a while know I used to refer to him as TAFKARA, The Asshole Formerly Known As Ron Artest) rocked the boards.  15 in 22 minutes and, it seems, a lot of it against the last Zeller stiff left in the league, Cody.  If there's one thing he does exceptionally well...At the :35 mark, approximately, there's Nesmith doing a "Smarty thing".




Speaking of Smart he just abused CJ offensively.  Complete bully ball on drives and post ups.  CJ isn't a particularly good defender to begin with but he's completely overpowered by Smart. For those of us who love bully ball, which certainly includes me and Cowens, this film is must-see TV.



They took more fritos than us, 32 vs 29, but we got an extra point out of ours because we hit ours.  Still, Blazer fans cannot complain about how we were "getting all the whistles", although I suspect they will anyway.

Lots of highlight films today.  That's what happens when you produce a shite-ton of points. Btw, I hate having to say 'shite' because of censorship. I'm a big boy, my mommy gave me permission to use bad words if/when I feel like it.

We have off until Tuesday, when we play the Lakers and the Clippers on Wednesday in a b2b.  Nice rest on a road trip.  We're 1-1 on this trip so far, with the first game being a competitive one against a team that shot lights out from 3.  Both the Lakers and Clips are 12-12 in a conference that is not as strong, nor as deep, as previous years.  If we can sweep these two mediocrities we would be no worse than 3-2 on this road trip without Jaylen for a lot of it and I, for one, will take that.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360171


Bob


.

Can the Celtics take their new found offensive prowess into LA on Tuesday for the second B2B hurdle on this trip?

I figured if we could post a 3-2 road trip it would be very acceptable.  Those 3 games would be Portland, LAL and LAC with losses to the Jazz and the Suns.   The NBA is unpredictable.  The Lakers will be looking for revenge and the Clippers are no easy out.  It's on to LA!

bobheckler wrote:We lost, in a very competitive game, to Utah the night before in part because they shot 52.9% (27-51).  Last night vs Portland we shot 56.8% from 3 (21-37) and it was a rout.  Aside from the obvious moral that "if you hit your shots you tend to win" I especially like the precision of the bounce back.  We lost by the 3, so we came back and won by the 3 the very next night.  No second guessing, no naval-gazing.  In fact, our 56.8% from 3 was slightly better than our 56.3% overall.

No Jaylen, no Al, no problem.  No Dame for them, and that's a huge loss, but it's made bigger because they don't dominate anywhere else on the court.  If you don't have to overplay a Damien Lillard then you can play everybody else more straight up.  Take away the riveting focus on Lillard whenever and wherever he is on the court and who on their team can take over?  

Cowens said the Blazers are a mess without Lillard.  Maybe that's because they're too wing-centric?  Holiday, Middleton and Giannis; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  DWade, LeBron and Bosh; a guard, a transcendental wing and a big.  Parker, Manu and Duncan; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  Ray, Paul and KG; a guard, a wing and a transcendental big.  I don't know if it has to be the big that has to be transcendental, but it seems that you need a "Holy Shite!" player among the 3.  The Blazers have an amazing point guard in Dame.  Transcendental?  Hmmm.  Maybe.  McCollum and Powell are fine players, but I don't see either of them as starters on a Championship team.  They're players that will come off the bench to chase a ring when they're on their back 9 and that's the only priority left to them.  Brad's mission is to be the team they want to come off the bench for when that day comes for them, like the way Danny made us the team House and Posey wanted to come to for a ring.  Fortunately, both the Js are young and will, hopefully, be in green for a while.  CJ is 30.  Powell is 28 1/2.  CJ is under contract until 2024, when he'll be 32, and then he'll be an unrestricted free agent.  The Js will still be under contract then.  Perfect.

Second straight big game for Jayson.  37 in Utah, 31 last night but, more importantly, a combined 21-42 in those two games and a combined 20-21 from the line.  Keep averaging double-digit frito attempts a game, Jayson, and we'll be good.




Season high for Payton Pritchard, playing before his hometown fans.  Lots of cheers from the crowd when he hit his shots.  He needed this game, obviously.  19 points on 6-12, 5-10 from 3.  3 assists and no turnovers.  The best part is the reaction of the bench after he hit his 3rd straight 3.  Schroder fell down on the floor in a fake faint and Grant went over and made believe he was giving him CPR.  At about the 1:50 mark.

Mark Murphy @Murf56
about 8 hours ago
Udoka not happy with that late-game team celebration of Pritchard's last 3-pointer. "Got a little out of hand to some extent with our guys getting over-zealous and getting a technical. I told them in the locker room to keep that professional." Later apologized to Chauncey Billups

I hope Ime had a bit of a smile on his face when he told them to calm down.  I understand apologizing to Billups, coach-to-coach, but if I'm Ime I'm having a bunch of laughs on the team bus to the airport.



Some disturbing comments by Pritchard on his post-game presser.  He's frustrated, not understanding what he needs to do.  At least that's how I read his comments.  You?




Schroder lit them up.  He's inconsistent.  He has great games, like last night, and then he'll have games where he can't throw the ball in the ocean from the shore.  His reaction to Pritchard's 3rd 3 shows he's a good locker room guy.  8 assists and only 1 turnover.  He can do it all (including shoot you out of a game).




Nesmith with a good game too.  11 on 3-6, 3-4 from 3.  Both of these young'uns have been squeezed out of the rotation by Schroder and Richardson, and that has stunted their development a bit I think, so it's good to see they're still keeping their attitude correct (although I am now a bit concerned about Pritchard's).




Juancho with 15 minutes of 'meh'.  Bruno with 5 minutes of energy.  To me, it boils down to 'how badly do we need Juancho's 3s?'  Not that it matters, bigger picture, since neither of them are playing except in world-class blow outs.  

A lot of homecomings last night.  Enes (I'm sorry, I cannot call him 'Freedom' just as I couldn't call Ron Artest 'Metta World Peace'.  Those who have known me for a while know I used to refer to him as TAFKARA, The Asshole Formerly Known As Ron Artest) rocked the boards.  15 in 22 minutes and, it seems, a lot of it against the last Zeller stiff left in the league, Cody.  If there's one thing he does exceptionally well...At the :35 mark, approximately, there's Nesmith doing a "Smarty thing".




Speaking of Smart he just abused CJ offensively.  Complete bully ball on drives and post ups.  CJ isn't a particularly good defender to begin with but he's completely overpowered by Smart.  For those of us who love bully ball, which certainly includes me and Cowens, this film is must-see TV.



They took more fritos than us, 32 vs 29, but we got an extra point out of ours because we hit ours.  Still, Blazer fans cannot complain about how we were "getting all the whistles", although I suspect they will anyway.

Lots of highlight films today.  That's what happens when you produce a shite-ton of points.  Btw, I hate having to say 'shite' because of censorship.  I'm a big boy, my mommy gave me permission to use bad words if/when I feel like it.

We have off until Tuesday, when we play the Lakers and the Clippers on Wednesday in a b2b.  Nice rest on a road trip.  We're 1-1 on this trip so far, with the first game being a competitive one against a team that shot lights out from 3.  Both the Lakers and Clips are 12-12 in a conference that is not as strong, nor as deep, as previous years.  If we can sweep these two mediocrities we would be no worse than 3-2 on this road trip without Jaylen for a lot of it and I, for one, will take that.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360171


Bob


.

McCollum not a starter? On a championship team? I beg to differ.

McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

ktron,

"McCollum not a starter? On a championship team? I beg to differ."

Just an opinion of mine, of course, but I think he's:

1.  Too short for a SG.  6'3", 190# is modern NBA point guard size.  
2.  4.5apg and 1.9TOpg is not NBA point guard floor generalship.
3.  His defensive rating over the last 2+ season are 118, 118 and 116 with a career defensive rating of 113.  Those are weak numbers, especially the last few years.  By comparison Bradley Beal's defensive ratings for the last 2+ seasons, on a less-then-impressive Wizards team, are 117, 115 and 110 with a career defensive rating of 111.  Eye-test alone says CJ's not a particularly dedicated defender.

He's a shooter who is a weak defender and a mediocre floor general.  Bench-quality skills.  The problem Portland has, in my opinion, is that he's just too good a shooter to bench when there's nobody behind him to step into his starting spot.  Besides, he's making $30M.

If Portland dangled CJ in front of Philly for Simmons, do you think Philly would take that deal?  According to ESPN's NBA Trade Machine that trade, straight up, would work salary/cap-wise.  If Portland threw in a draft pick to offset CJ's/Simmons' age difference (30 vs 25), how about then?  Personally, I doubt it and, if you agree with this, what does that say?  It says that neither of us think Philly values a high quality shooter, but low quality defender, as much as they do a non-shooting, but high quality defender and passer who is a head case that isn't playing.

This is all just my opinion, of course.  Shooters obviously have a place in this league but shooters who are mediocre in every other department don't start for Championship teams.


Bob


.

Thank you, Utah Jazz, for the eye-opening lesson resulting in a loss from the previous night. "Hey, if we can be torched by 400% 3-shooting and still be in the game until the last minute done, plus we're pretty good defensively, let's try the same on someone else." Lesson learned.

OK, let's get the "Well, we didn't have DLill on the floor so we would have kicked your asses if he were in the line up" whining out of the way. We didn't have JB either, so let's just "call" it a wash.

Went through all the similar emotions as I watched the 1st quarter going into the 2nd, knowing good and well we would blow the big lead we had but not panic. Check.

As we rebuilt our lead in the 3rd, I finally had to look up the final score feeling pretty confident we would win. Check. Then somewhere in the 4th I checked the box score for us and saw Pritchard finished with 19 points! But remembering the game some far he hadn't shot much and had not been in the game all that often. Then with about 5 minutes left the TV showed Pritchard with 3 points and a couple of assists. I thought box score must have been a typo. Then it got down to 3 minutes left and he only had 8 points. Thought again, clearly a typo in the box score. Then he scored the last 11 points! NICE!!

Very good performance overall, I thought. Now it's on to Los Angeles for a double header B2B. I'm beginning to feel less and less like this team will lay an egg. Not sure where it's coming from but feel it nonetheless.

Go Celtics!!

db

cowens/oldschool wrote:McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

Yes he is a smaller SG at 6' 3".

I think he is a classic Robin. The guy has average 20+ points per game in 7 consecutive years so I do not see him as a 3rd or 4th option. He's a career 39% shooter as well. He actually reminds me of Bradley Beal who is also an undersized SG at 6' 3" SG.

No one would ever suggest that Beal is not a guy who could be the SG on a championship team

Oh I just saw BobH post about Beal and McCollum. Their numbers are quite similar if you ask me unless you are looking to split hairs.

Championship teams are comprised of players so I think it is absurd to suggest that CJ could not help a team win the title. The unique aspect of title teams is that the pieces blend together and compliment one another.

Does a SG have to be a floor general too? CJ is just as good of a floor general as BB. He has a better A/T ratio.

bobheckler wrote:ktron,

"McCollum not a starter? On a championship team? I beg to differ."

Just an opinion of mine, of course, but I think he's:

1.  Too short for a SG.  6'3", 190# is modern NBA point guard size.  
2.  4.5apg and 1.9TOpg is not NBA point guard floor generalship.
3.  His defensive rating over the last 2+ season are 118, 118 and 116 with a career defensive rating of 113.  Those are weak numbers, especially the last few years.  By comparison Bradley Beal's defensive ratings for the last 2+ seasons, on a less-then-impressive Wizards team, are 117, 115 and 110 with a career defensive rating of 111.  Eye-test alone says CJ's not a particularly dedicated defender.

He's a shooter who is a weak defender and a mediocre floor general.  Bench-quality skills.  The problem Portland has, in my opinion, is that he's just too good a shooter to bench when there's nobody behind him to step into his starting spot.  Besides, he's making $30M.

If Portland dangled CJ in front of Philly for Simmons, do you think Philly would take that deal?  According to ESPN's NBA Trade Machine that trade, straight up, would work salary/cap-wise.  If Portland threw in a draft pick to offset CJ's/Simmons' age difference (30 vs 25), how about then?  Personally, I doubt it and, if you agree with this, what does that say?  It says that neither of us think Philly values a high quality shooter, but low quality defender, as much as they do a non-shooting, but high quality defender and passer who is a head case that isn't playing.

This is all just my opinion, of course.  Shooters obviously have a place in this league but shooters who are mediocre in every other department don't start for Championship teams.


Bob


.

Bob, i would say the make up of a particular team also comes into play. I really think it depends on who the other 4 players surrounding him are. They aren’t a championship quality team in Portland with him and Dame but if you have the right pieces around them that escalates the team to that level, CJ is still in the starting lineup.
I understand and agree with what your saying when you refer to all of his weaknesses including his size but on a better team he still is starting caliber in my opinion.

When healthy that backcourt that Portland has is one of the deadliest in the league. The big thing is, Lillard has been hurt a lot more than he ever has been. McCollum will not carry that team on his own, but he is still a deadly shooter when he goes on a tear. Their center, whatever the heck his name is, is excellent offensively but leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end. The Celtics plated a great game last night and did not let the run that Portland went on derail them, they answered the call and buried them. A most enjoyable game to watch if you are a Celtics fan. Tatum has kicked it up two notches. That stupid supposed assistant GM who said that Tatum did not care about winning lit a fire inside our young stud. Good for him, shutting this idiot up. Even Brad wanted to call him an idiot. Anyway, he was a star out there last night and in Utah, I hope we are on our way to a roll. Time will tell.

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

Yes he is a smaller SG at 6' 3".

I think he is a classic Robin.  The guy has average 20+ points per game in 7 consecutive years so I do not see him as a 3rd or 4th option.  He's a career 39% shooter as well.  He actually reminds me of Bradley Beal who is also an undersized SG at 6' 3" SG.

No one would ever suggest that Beal is not a guy who could be the SG on a championship team

Oh I just saw BobH post about Beal and McCollum.  Their numbers are quite similar if you ask me unless you are looking to split hairs.

Championship teams are comprised of players so I think it is absurd to suggest that CJ could not help a team win the title.  The unique aspect of title teams is that the pieces blend together and compliment one another.

Does a SG have to be a floor general too?  CJ is just as good of a floor general as BB.  He has a better A/T ratio.

Really, he’s been a 2nd option his whole career, the problem is Dame at no 1 and him at no 2 is nowhere near enough to get it done, otherwise they would be in the annual WCF every year which they are not. I’m not putting it all on him, as we know it’s a team game. Obviously if they had a better all star type of wing or big, a DeRozen or Jaylen or a Jimmy Butler, the team would be much better, which would push CJ down to no 3. He is nowhere near Ray Allen and when he played on his championship/contending teams with us, he was the no 3 scoring option.

Kobe, Ray Allen, Dwayne Wade, Klay Thompson, Manu those are championship type 2’s/SG. None of them are 6’3” and all can defend and effect the game besides just shooting. Ofcourse the Bucks got by without an elite 2 because they had the premiere big in the league, Giannis, surrounded by 2 all stars in Middleton and Holiday.

Celtics Wrap: Boston Bounces Back With Beatdown Of Trail Blazers
Boston improves to 13-11


NESN by Alexandra Francisco


Boston is back in the win column.

After dropping a heartbreaker in Utah to start off a West Coast road trip, the Celtics have now won three of their last four games thanks to a 145-117 result over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.

The Celtics improve to 13-11 on the season, while the Blazers drop to 11-13.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Things aren’t going great in Portland right now, but we don’t have to get into the Damian Lillard situation. With that, Boston used it as an opportunity to pull off a betting upset and give the young guys some run. That led to some interesting lineups, to say the least. One of which invited the Blazers to go off a 23-6 rally in the second that demolished their lead.

Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schröder each had 30-point games, and some large lineups kept Portland at bay without Jaylen Brown and Al Horford in the starting lineup. Shooting their highest 3-point percentage of the season (56.8%) certainly helped the C’s, but take it with a grain of salt against Portland.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Another double-double for Tatum. He had 31 points, 10 boards (all defensive) and four assists to lead the Celtics to victory yet again. He’s been on fire.


— Schröder was pretty productive himself, finishing with 31 points, four rebounds, eight assists and a steal. Only one turnover tonight, too.


— Marcus Smart had a huge impact before getting into some foul trouble, adding 17 points, two rebounds, and four assists. Despite four turnovers, he had a plus-minus of +9, making up for every mistake and then some with his physicality and a few and-1s. We had a Smart-Rob Williams lob, too.


— Honorable mention? We’ll let Payton Pritchard have this moment in front of his hometown crowd.


WAGER WATCH
Entering the contest, oddsmakers gave Smart -105 odds to get over 12.5 points, via DraftKings Sportsbook. Without Brown and Horford, though, it ended up being a decent value bet. Smart supporters would have had to leverage $110 to win $100 with him putting up 17.


UP NEXT
The Celtics don’t play again until Tuesday when they visit allowing the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tip off from the Staples Center is at 10 p.m. ET.

112288

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

Yes he is a smaller SG at 6' 3".

I think he is a classic Robin.  The guy has average 20+ points per game in 7 consecutive years so I do not see him as a 3rd or 4th option.  He's a career 39% shooter as well.  He actually reminds me of Bradley Beal who is also an undersized SG at 6' 3" SG.

No one would ever suggest that Beal is not a guy who could be the SG on a championship team

Oh I just saw BobH post about Beal and McCollum.  Their numbers are quite similar if you ask me unless you are looking to split hairs.

Championship teams are comprised of players so I think it is absurd to suggest that CJ could not help a team win the title.  The unique aspect of title teams is that the pieces blend together and compliment one another.

Does a SG have to be a floor general too?  CJ is just as good of a floor general as BB.  He has a better A/T ratio.

Really, he’s been a 2nd option his whole career, the problem is Dame at no 1 and him at no 2 is nowhere near enough to get it done, otherwise they would be in the annual WCF every year which they are not. I’m not putting it all on him, as we know it’s a team game. Obviously if they had a better all star type of wing or big, a DeRozen or Jaylen or a Jimmy Butler, the team would be much better, which would push CJ down to no 3. He is nowhere near Ray Allen and when he played on his championship/contending teams with us, he was the no 3 scoring option.

Again, it depends who those other 3 are. in my opinion there are a few contending teams that would welcome McCollum as their #2. Size notwithstanding, Philly being one.

Ktron wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

Yes he is a smaller SG at 6' 3".

I think he is a classic Robin.  The guy has average 20+ points per game in 7 consecutive years so I do not see him as a 3rd or 4th option.  He's a career 39% shooter as well.  He actually reminds me of Bradley Beal who is also an undersized SG at 6' 3" SG.

No one would ever suggest that Beal is not a guy who could be the SG on a championship team

Oh I just saw BobH post about Beal and McCollum.  Their numbers are quite similar if you ask me unless you are looking to split hairs.

Championship teams are comprised of players so I think it is absurd to suggest that CJ could not help a team win the title.  The unique aspect of title teams is that the pieces blend together and compliment one another.

Does a SG have to be a floor general too?  CJ is just as good of a floor general as BB.  He has a better A/T ratio.

Really, he’s been a 2nd option his whole career, the problem is Dame at no 1 and him at no 2 is nowhere near enough to get it done, otherwise they would be in the annual WCF every year which they are not. I’m not putting it all on him, as we know it’s a team game. Obviously if they had a better all star type of wing or big, a DeRozen or Jaylen or a Jimmy Butler, the team would be much better, which would push CJ down to no 3. He is nowhere near Ray Allen and when he played on his championship/contending teams with us, he was the no 3 scoring option.

Again, it depends who those other 3 are. in my opinion there are a few contending teams that would welcome McCollum as their #2. Size notwithstanding, Philly being one.

Ofcourse, but we have no need/desire for him and many fans in Portland pointed out alot of things his game is lacking on the Comments from the Other Side thread. A lot of those comments were a lot of the same things we said and many frustrated fans want him gone….

cowens/oldschool wrote:

Ktron wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:McCollum is a nice player, but he doesn’t have enough size and can’t defend most championship level 2’s. Can get it going offensively at times, but more of a tweener type player. With better talent on a team, he could be a legit 3rd or 4th option.

Yes he is a smaller SG at 6' 3".

I think he is a classic Robin.  The guy has average 20+ points per game in 7 consecutive years so I do not see him as a 3rd or 4th option.  He's a career 39% shooter as well.  He actually reminds me of Bradley Beal who is also an undersized SG at 6' 3" SG.

No one would ever suggest that Beal is not a guy who could be the SG on a championship team

Oh I just saw BobH post about Beal and McCollum.  Their numbers are quite similar if you ask me unless you are looking to split hairs.

Championship teams are comprised of players so I think it is absurd to suggest that CJ could not help a team win the title.  The unique aspect of title teams is that the pieces blend together and compliment one another.

Does a SG have to be a floor general too?  CJ is just as good of a floor general as BB.  He has a better A/T ratio.

Really, he’s been a 2nd option his whole career, the problem is Dame at no 1 and him at no 2 is nowhere near enough to get it done, otherwise they would be in the annual WCF every year which they are not. I’m not putting it all on him, as we know it’s a team game. Obviously if they had a better all star type of wing or big, a DeRozen or Jaylen or a Jimmy Butler, the team would be much better, which would push CJ down to no 3. He is nowhere near Ray Allen and when he played on his championship/contending teams with us, he was the no 3 scoring option.

Again, it depends who those other 3 are. in my opinion there are a few contending teams that would welcome McCollum as their #2. Size notwithstanding, Philly being one.

Ofcourse, but we have no need/desire for him and many fans in Portland pointed out alot of things his game is lacking on the Comments from the Other Side thread. A lot of those comments were a lot of the same things we said and many frustrated fans want him gone….

The thought of CJ becoming a C’s J has never crossed my mind until you mentioned it and I don’t see us having a desire for him either. Fan’s are fickle so I don’t put too much weight on that. Tonight he could score 50 and they’ll fall back in love with him.