Zombie C.J. is horrible

[SlyPokerDog]

CJ? We have a CJ on the team?

 

[BBert]

CJ? We have a CJ on the team?

You may know him as "3J McBuckets".

 

[BBert]

Gotta love his all around game tonight. Scoring, assisting, rebounding, stealing, playing defense.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Gotta love his all around game tonight. Scoring, assisting, rebounding, stealing, playing defense.

What I found encouraging is he didn't get blocked this evening when taking it to the rim. I don't know if that was just the Lakers or if he is finally adjusting.

 

[Pinwheel1]

One of my all time favorite threads.....to see bumped.

 

[Strenuus]

One of my all time favorite threads.....to see bumped.

Anyone else go straight to "Triumph the insult comic dog" before reading the end of this post? I sure did.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Anyone else go straight to "Triumph the insult comic dog" before reading the end of this post? I sure did.

No, but I have now.

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[Strenuus]

Why can't I see DW's tweets! :MARIS61:

 

[Darkwebs]

Why can't I see DW's tweets! :MARIS61:

The Lakers' 77 points are the fewest allowed by the Trail Blazers in the 45-year history of the POR/LAL series (80, 4/6/04). #PORatLAL
Per Blazers twitter

 

[Draco]

I always been a fan of CJ since the draft. Glad to see him having success. I was getting concerned earlier this season but he just had so many skills and good IQ its all coming together for him. If he keeps playing like this our bench may give us a real chance in the playoffs

 

[Scalma]

Hi Scalma

Sorry, couldn't resist. It feels good to be right about a guy for once.

And I'm happy to say I was wrong

 

[magnifier661]

And I'm happy to say I was wrong

Yep! When we are wrong about how a player sucks, that means our team is muh stronger.

I love being wrong!

 

[Boob-No-More]

You really have to give credit to our coaching staff for being patient and developing our young guys. Last year we saw Joel Freeland go from being totally lost as a rookie to a solid rotation player. Earlier this year, we saw Meyers Leonard make that leap, and now C.J. Kudos to Coach Stotts and all the assistant coaches.

I think we got spoiled by Lillard and that caused many here to become impatient and have unrealistic expectations for our other young guys. So glad Neil and Terry were patient and stuck with these guys. In addition to veterans like Kaman, Blake and Wright, we now have some very solid young guys on the bench that are still on cheap rookie contracts. That bodes well for the immediate future and the longer term, too!

BNM

 

[Strenuus]

You really have to give credit to our coaching staff for being patient and developing our young guys. Last year we saw Joel Freeland go from being totally lost as a rookie to a solid rotation player. Earlier this year, we saw Meyers Leonard make that leap, and now C.J. Kudos to Coach Stotts and all the assistant coaches.

I think we got spoiled by Lillard and that caused many here to become impatient and have unrealistic expectations for our other young guys. So glad Neil and Terry were patient and stuck with these guys. In addition to veterans like Kaman, Blake and Wright, we now have some very solid young guys on the bench that are still on cheap rookie contracts. That bodes well for the immediate future and the longer term, too!

BNM

Especially during these years where we are "contending"

 

[stampedehero]

CJ scores 27 and Stotts yanks him before he can do any more damage. Awful.

+>Agreed. He looked better than Dame in the second half. Stotts should have rested starters and observed if his Lopez led second team with Frazier,McCollum,Gee and Freeland could succeed. At this point in the season Stotts should Have Freeland and Meyers in there at the same time for visual effect .

 

[stampedehero]

As he continues to get more and more comfortable, I foresee the ability to run the offense for 12 minutes a game. Next year, Blake will be unnecessary, and CJ will back up both the 1 and 2.

+> He looks more valued than Blake. Blake can finally fulfill his dream of running his own Starbucks.

 

[tlongII]

Fez is horrible.

 

[BigGameDamian]

As soon as Wes goes down CJ's game comes alive.

 

[Eastoff]

I thought cj was horrible. Now granted the Lakers are actually horrible. But this crow tastes so good!!

I really want to see the starters have a minutes cap of say 25-30 for the rest of regular season play. Add Kaman and Blake to that list.

 

[magnifier661]

I thought cj was horrible. Now granted the Lakers are actually horrible. But this crow tastes so good!!

I really want to see the starters have a minutes cap of say 25-30 for the rest of regular season play. Add Kaman and Blake to that list.

CJs confidence is increasing at a rapid rate. I've always thought most his trouble was in between his ears. With more confidence, he seems to play with more swagger, which is a huge advantage!

 

[Sinobas]

I think the took CJ because of his similarities to Damian. On paper, their size and athletic ability is almost identical, they are both good shooters, play under control, went to small schools etc.... It's just that CJ didn't really seem to have confidence till now. He wanted to sit back and shoot 3 pointers.

 

[Scalma]

I thought cj was horrible. Now granted the Lakers are actually horrible. But this crow tastes so good!!

I really want to see the starters have a minutes cap of say 25-30 for the rest of regular season play. Add Kaman and Blake to that list.

Stotts should go pop and occasionally give Kaman the "DNP-old" tag. He should never play back to back nights again.

 

[Pinwheel1]

So the conclusion is young players need consistent minutes in order to improve and gain confidence. And no two players learn at the same rate. Injuries, age, minutes, coaches, all play a part. So why do we as fans keep making the same mistake almost every year?

I think we can debate how young players are coming along while still realizing that it takes a couple of years before they are even close to a finished product. But we don't. We trash them quickly and want them gone. I am not standing on a soap box here because I do it too. But the bottom line is most players coming into the NBA can't get better without playing. Why can't we remember that? Thankfully Neil and the coaching staff are not as impatient as the fans because it only makes sense that the teams who develop their young players will be more successful in the long run.

CJ IMO will still have some games this year where he looks bad. The playoffs will be a whole new experience for him. But the one thing I love about him is his energy. He brings it on both sides of the ball. He is not a easy cover because he never stops running around the court. That must be irritating (and tiring) as a defender to have to chase someone in circles. Nice to have someone like that coming off the bench.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Thankfully Neil and the coaching staff are not as impatient as the fans because it only makes sense that the teams who develop their young players will be more successful in the long run.

The luxury of being a staff member of the Portland Trail Blazers is you get to see these guys every day. Not at just the ball games. But in closed door practices. What they do and how they conduct, how they prepare themselves each and every day. So if they see something they really, really, really like on practice floor or in the classroom setting. It's no wonder why they don't immediately give up on a guy like Jermaine O'Neal and a CJ McCollum. Alan Crabbe get's rave reviews from the practice floor which is what I think made him untouchable during the trade deadline.

Neil and the staff should get credit. But they are also privy to more information than the average fan has access to.

 

[Kaydow]

CJs confidence is increasing at a rapid rate. I've always thought most his trouble was in between his ears. With more confidence, he seems to play with more swagger, which is a huge advantage!

Agreed. The guy shot over 80% from the FT line all 4 years in college, and he got there quite a bit. That should translate no matter what level you're at, it's 15 Ft. He shouldn't be at 67% for the 2nd straight year. That's mental.

 

[S550]

Agreed. The guy shot over 80% from the FT line all 4 years in college, and he got there quite a bit. That should translate no matter what level you're at, it's 15 Ft. He shouldn't be at 67% for the 2nd straight year. That's mental.

Yea for some odd reason he's a terrible free throw shooter and he's a shooting guard at that.

 

[BBert]

5-5 last night. I think he's found his stroke and his focus.

 

[magnifier661]

Yea for some odd reason he's a terrible free throw shooter and he's a shooting guard at that.

Yeah mixum, that's weird that shooting guards like Corey Brewer types aren't good free throw shooters. I think Houston really are stupid for picking him up don't you?