Is S2 underrating CJ?

[Fez Hammersticks]

The comments are frequent about his lackluster SPL performance but what you're forgetting is that he missed nearly an entire year, clearly his rhythm wasn't there. Look at Rose for example, a year off and nowhere near where he used to be.

He, IMO, is the SGOTF and definitely not some throw-in in a trade.

And you can probably expect him to look rusty when he comes back.

Looking at his stats at Lehigh -- his advanced numbers were at least on par with Lillard's numbers at Weber State.

Career numbers:

McCollum: 29.1 PER | 56 TS% | 20.7 WS | 95.5 DRtg
(21.3 PPG | 6.3 RPG | 2.7 APG) -- primarily played SG

Lillard: 29.3 PER | 60.6 TS% | 17.6 WS | 102.9 DRtg
(18.6 PPG | 4.3 RPG | 3.5 APG) -- primarily played PG

He has the skillset and bbiq to be that third scorer next to Dame and LMA.

 

[Strenuus]

Summer league isn't an nba game.

He hasn't played a game. Wow.

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

Fez, I do not think he is a throw in either. While I do not see him playing the point and he will be undersized for the two, his outside shooting in this offense will be fun to watch.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Summer league isn't an nba game.

He hasn't played a game. Wow.

You missed the point.

Some are down on him because of how he looked in Vegas without factoring in his long layoff due to injury.

This is more about how he compared to Lillard in college and the type of prospect he really is.

 

[magnifier661]

The other thing to note was in summer league, he really didn't have much help. With this squad, CJ won't have to be ISO Roy and force the issue. He can organically score and distribute with this team. I'm actually really excited to see what he can do with this ball club!

 

[Boob-No-More]

I think because of his size and questionable PG skills, he is, and perhaps always will be, best suited to a 6th man, instant offense role off the bench - a classic Vinnie Johnson microwave role. That's not a bad thing, and the role Mo Williams is playing now. I envision C.J. eventually developing into a rich man's Mo Williams. Again, nothing wrong with that. Johnson won two rings with Detroit and was a valuable part of those teams. I just don't see C.J. becoming another Lillard, who I think is an all-star level talent. I see C.J. as a future 6th man of the year level talent.

BNM

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

You missed the point.

Some are down on him because of how he looked in Vegas without factoring in his long layoff due to injury.

This is more about how he compared to Lillard in college and the type of prospect he really is.

Fez, I think his point was well taken.

He may be a bust or he may be an all-star. And the college stats are pretty much meaningless. We will know when and if he ever plays.

Now, if you really want an opinion, I did watch some of his college games and I wasn't as impressed as I was with Dame. He doesn't seem to have the "it" factor most NBA players had in college.

 

[RR7]

And here I am liking what I saw from him in summer league.

 

[illmatic99]

Ya SL was a bit messed up because we had him playing PG. He ain't a PG the whole time. I just hope his ability to the get to the rim will transfer into the NBA. We need another guy that can drive/finish/get FTs

 

[Rhal]

And here I am liking what I saw from him in summer league.

I liked what I saw in summer league as well. Especially when you consider before SL he hadn't played a game in almost a year.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Being injury prone is not an excuse for his problems - it IS the problem!

 

[blue32]

With the Blazers luck, and his reoccurring injury, I am not excited about this guy. A foot that continues to stay weak, re-break, will not bode well for our teams future.

 

[julius]

I think we might want to wait until he plays in a few games before we decide if he's underrated or overrated.

 

[Draco]

I think because of his size and questionable PG skills, he is, and perhaps always will be, best suited to a 6th man, instant offense role off the bench - a classic Vinnie Johnson microwave role. That's not a bad thing, and the role Mo Williams is playing now. I envision C.J. eventually developing into a rich man's Mo Williams. Again, nothing wrong with that. Johnson won two rings with Detroit and was a valuable part of those teams. I just don't see C.J. becoming another Lillard, who I think is an all-star level talent. I see C.J. as a future 6th man of the year level talent.

If CJ can’t play the point how is he going to sub for Damian? We’ve seen the offense the last few years when there is no PG coming in off the bench, not pretty. It may be more effective to play a lesser talent but one with a legit point skillset such as Watson when Damian needs a break. If so and if CJ deserves minutes than SG would be the only position he plays. We could still play him with Matthews as Wes can slide to SF. I’m not terribly worried about CJ defensively at SG as there aren’t any in the league he would have a terrible matchup with. The majority of teams have undersized 2 guards these days.

I’m real excited to see CJ on the court but I won’t be surprised if he is a 3rd string garbage time player this season. There will be opportunities at some point though, and Mo is on a one year contract so CJ could have a much larger role next year.

 

[donkiez]

I don't think he is being underrated, I just think he is kind of forgetten at the moment because no one has seen him play besides summer league, and the team is doing really well right now. Out of sight out of mind and we arn't desperate for any help. He will get his time to shine soon enough.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

You can't underrate what isn't rated.

 

[HailBlazers]

I just think he is kind of forgetten at the moment because no one has seen him play besides summer league, and the team is doing really well right now. Out of sight out of mind and we arn't desperate for any help. He will get his time to shine soon enough.

And I'm hoping this is all for the better. Give him the most amount of time to heal, and relieve any pressure of us significantly requiring his help. That said, I think he has the skillset to be a significant asset to this team.

 

[Samuel]

You can't underrate what isn't rated.

This. I suppose the only people who can begin to speak on this are his coaches at Lehigh and the coaches who were roaming the practice facility this summer. No one else has gotten an extended look like they have.

I for one think Summer League was a really bad mix of players and a situation where the other teams were blanket covering him (many of whom were playing with their careers on the line trying to show scouts they can D-up against the lotto kid).

 

[julius]

Any word on his status?

 

[donkiez]

Any word on his status?

foot still broke

 

[ponderguy]

I'm most worried about our defense when he and Dame are on the court together

 

[Natebishop3]

The reason why I don't put much weight on the summer league is because we had CJ playing point guard much of the time, and CJ is not a point guard. That much was clear. I think he's a scorer, and that's totally fine, but he's going to have a hard time finding minutes right now. Between Dame, Wes, and Mo, I really don't see a lot of time for CJ, especially with how we're playing.

This is fine, in my opinion, because it puts no rush on getting him back. He can take his time, he can make sure he's fulled healed, and then once he's back we can try to fit him into the rotation. I still think a trade will have to be made at some point because we simply have too many guards.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

CJ is a perfect fit for our system. He can shoot, he's unselfish, he can create. The only question is defense and I suspect that with his intelligence he'll figure it out in a 1-3 years.

 

[Natebishop3]

CJ is a perfect fit for our system. He can shoot, he's unselfish, he can create. The only question is defense and I suspect that with his intelligence he'll figure it out in a 1-3 years.

But how do we get him on the floor? Mo is playing well, Wes is playing well, and CJ is coming off an injury. I don't think CJ will be happy sitting on the bench all year and only getting minutes in garbage time.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Seriously, ask me in a month and a half. At any time a player could...
get a major injury, get a minor injury, develop a heart problem, get worn down, get traded, get suspended, decide he doesn't need to play defense anymore, stop passing, get caught with drugs, get caught grabbing Olshey's wife's ass....

You're question isn't completely ludicrous, but it's a bit like asking "what do we do if we're down by 3 with 2 minutes to go in game 7 of the NBA finals and Lillard has fouled out?" A fun question to be sure, but it's getting ahead of ourselves a bit.

But how do we get him on the floor? Mo is playing well, Wes is playing well, and CJ is coming off an injury. I don't think CJ will be happy sitting on the bench all year and only getting minutes in garbage time.

 

[Boob-No-More]

If CJ can’t play the point how is he going to sub for Damian? We’ve seen the offense the last few years when there is no PG coming in off the bench, not pretty.

I didn't say C.J. could not play PG for spot minutes, I said I don't think he has the skills to be a starting PG.

That said, we currently have three better distributors than C.J. on this team. They are Lillard, Batum and Mo Williams. C.J. has the handle to bring the ball up the court, but has not demonstrated the court vision to run an offense. I know his teammates in summer league sucked, but he also didn't play PG in college. Although I don't think C.J. has the size to be a starting SG or the skills to be a starting PG, I think he'll be fine as a back-up combo guard. And I think as long as at least one of Lillard, Batum, or Mo Williams is on the court with him we'll be fine - as a second unit. A C.J. McCollum/Mo Williams combination would be very undersized for a starting backcourt, but would be fine against another teams second units.

I’m not terribly worried about CJ defensively at SG as there aren’t any in the league he would have a terrible matchup with. The majority of teams have undersized 2 guards these days.

This is where I disagree. C.J. would be one of the smallest starting SGs in the NBA today. A quick check shows current SGs are equally divided with 10 being 6'6" and taller, 10 being right at 6'5" and 10 being 6'4" and under. C.J. is generously listed as 6'4" 200. His actual pre-draft measurements were 6' 3.25" (with shoes), 197. Ironically, Bradley Beal measured at 6'4.75" with shoes, but is officially listed as 6'3". Taking into account these discrepancies, the only current starting SGs as short as C.J are Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon and and Eric Bledsoe.

With 10 starting SGs 6'6" or taller, there are still plenty of big SGs in the league. Guys like Klay Thompson (6'7"), Kevin Martin (6'7"), Joe Johnson (6'8"), DeMar Derozan (6'7"), Jimmy Butler (6'7") would have a field day against C.J.

And, it's not just a lack of height, at under 200 pounds, he's very light and would get abused by stockier, stronger players like Eric Gordon, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, etc.

C.J. McCollum at 6'2.25" (without shoes), 197 and Damian Lillard at 6'1.75" (without shoes), 189 would be one of the shortest, lightest starting backcourts in the NBA and would get bused on defense.

That's why I think Wesley Matthews at 6'5", 220 is much better paired with Lillard as a starter and C.J. would be much better coming off the bench.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

I didn't say C.J. could not play PG for spot minutes, I said I don't think he has the skills to be a starting PG.

That said, we currently have three better distributors than C.J. on this team. They are Lillard, Batum and Mo Williams. C.J. has the handle to bring the ball up the court, but has not demonstrated the court vision to run an offense. I know his teammates in summer league sucked, but he also didn't play PG in college. Although I don't think C.J. has the size to be a starting SG or the skills to be a starting PG, I think he'll be fine as a back-up combo guard. And I think as long as at least one of Lillard, Batum, or Mo Williams is on the court with him we'll be fine - as a second unit. A C.J. McCollum/Mo Williams combination would be very undersized for a starting backcourt, but would be fine against another teams second units.



This is where I disagree. C.J. would be one of the smallest starting SGs in the NBA today. A quick check shows current SGs are equally divided with 10 being 6'6" and taller, 10 being right at 6'5" and 10 being 6'4" and under. C.J. is generously listed as 6'4" 200. His actual pre-draft measurements were 6' 3.25" (with shoes), 197. Ironically, Bradley Beal measured at 6'4.75" with shoes, but is officially listed as 6'3". Taking into account these discrepancies, the only current starting SGs as short as C.J are Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon and and Eric Bledsoe.

With 10 starting SGs 6'6" or taller, there are still plenty of big SGs in the league. Guys like Klay Thompson (6'7"), Kevin Martin (6'7"), Joe Johnson (6'8"), DeMar Derozan (6'7"), Jimmy Butler (6'7") would have a field day against C.J.

And, it's not just a lack of height, at under 200 pounds, he's very light and would get abused by stockier, stronger players like Eric Gordon, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, etc.

C.J. McCollum at 6'2.25" (without shoes), 197 and Damian Lillard at 6'1.75" (without shoes), 189 would be one of the shortest, lightest starting backcourts in the NBA and would get bused on defense.

That's why I think Wesley Matthews at 6'5", 220 is much better paired with Lillard as a starter and C.J. would be much better coming off the bench.

BNM

Yeah, and though we pair Dame and Mo at the same time, Lillard plays the two and Mo plays the point in that situation. It's just for spot minutes. We'll just have to see how things go. Maybe he'll be crazy good...

 

[blue9]

I think because of his size and questionable PG skills, he is, and perhaps always will be, best suited to a 6th man, instant offense role off the bench - a classic Vinnie Johnson microwave role.

I agree with this. His size makes me question his role. His durability makes me question his longevity. I have a hard time envisioning him being a starter next to Lillard - at best it reminds me of the Curry/Ellis backcourt.
I don't pay attention to Summer League or pre-season, so neither of those are reasons for me to be concerned about him or any other player.
I don't view CJ as a "throw-in" on a trade - but if there's a team out there that's interested in him and they have something we want I wouldn't hesitate to trade him.

 

[Nikolokolus]

With Mo playing reasonably well, I question just how much of an impact CJ will be able to make this year. Stotts doesn't strike me as the kind of coach that will carve out minutes for the sake of development without those minutes being earned. It'll probably take an injury to Damian, Mo or Wes for him to get time when healthy.

 

[Boob-No-More]

With Mo playing reasonably well, I question just how much of an impact CJ will be able to make this year. Stotts doesn't strike me as the kind of coach that will carve out minutes for the sake of development without those minutes being earned. It'll probably take an injury to Damian, Mo or Wes for him to get time when healthy.

That's one of the benefits of having some backcourt depth. With the addition of Mo Williams, we're not really missing our rookie lottery pick. When C.J. does come back, he can be eased into the line up gradually and only given significant minutes when he has proven he deserves them.

BNM