What is wrong with CJ?

[Rastapopoulos]

Is he just in a shooting slump? He just seems seriously out of sorts. He looks lost out there occasionally - it never used to be the case that he could be shut down, but it looks like people have figured him out. Is he really missing someone who sets a good screen?

 

[Natebishop3]

He's a ball hog. He doesn't play defense. Take your pick.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Ant is coming for his spot.

Shape up or ship out, Christian James!

 

[julius]

He's attempting to be this teams Monte Ellis.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Ant is coming for his spot.

Shape up or ship out, Christian James!

Other than being scorers who don't contribute much else, I don't think they're all that similar. CJ's game is more Brandon Roy, Simons' is more Ray Allen.

 

[theprunetang]

One of the points of emphasis this season for refs has been the offensive foul on the off arm pushing off on the defensive player. CJ has really relied on that subtly to make a sliver of space. He got called for that a few times in the first couple of games. My theory is that has gotten into his head. Like his plan A for offense was taken away and he isn't sure quite how to initiate his offense right now. Another guy who has relied on that a lot is Harden, and he has struggled a bit early on as well. Just a thought.

 

[julius]

Someone posted on twitter (I've since closed twitter down and don't feel like looking for it again) that on his last podcast, he was talking about having trouble breathing while on the court. That could totally explain his issues, if true.

 

[Blazinaway]

didn't he recently get married? got a fat extension as well

 

[hoopsjock]

This is going to seem like another bash CJ post but answer this question:

Does CJ care more about winning or individual stats and getting his?

 

[blazedanugz]

He is honestly one of the biggest ball hogs I’ve ever seen. He is no threat to pass which makes him a lot easier to guard

 

[riverman]

His shots are coming up short and he can't finish in the lane in traffic...that's tired legs..why I don't know

 

[julius]

His shots are coming up short and he can't finish in the lane in traffic...that's tired legs..why I don't know

that does lead credence to the story about him being short of breath (as per his pod cast).

 

[AldoTrapani]

We’ll find out soon enough I’m sure Quick is working on it. It’ll probably be a little telling as well. I’m sure CJ won’t be happy with it since him and Quick don’t like each other

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

He is honestly one of the biggest ball hogs I’ve ever seen. He is no threat to pass which makes him a lot easier to guard

That’s not true

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

His shots are coming up short and he can't finish in the lane in traffic...that's tired legs..why I don't know

Maybe right ... he’s used to make thoses shots. We need him

 

[oldmangrouch]

that does lead credence to the story about him being short of breath (as per his pod cast).

His shots are coming up short and he can't finish in the lane in traffic...that's tired legs..why I don't know

Out of shape? Money, marriage, and all that has made him fat and happy? I've worried at times that he was more competitive with Dame than with the other team - but at least he always seemed motivated. A complacent/indifferent CJ is not a pleasant thought.

 

[julius]

Out of shape? Money, marriage, and all that has made him fat and happy? I've worried at times that he was more competitive with Dame than with the other team - but at least he always seemed motivated. A complacent/indifferent CJ is not a pleasant thought.

Could be, but it could also be something else that he doesn't necessarily want to talk about yet (as in, he doesn't know what the issue is).

It doesn't look like he isn't caring about the games/team, as he is trying (maybe not in the way that is always beneficial the team/being a ball hog)...but he just looks like he has no lift in his shot. That could to point to a health related issue (out of shape/un-diagnosed illness/some other reason that isn't too big of a deal). Since he's not old and hasn't struggled this much before, it wouldn't seem to be a case of he's peaked and is on a quick downward spiral to backup status.

 

[CupWizier]

Is he just in a shooting slump? He just seems seriously out of sorts. He looks lost out there occasionally - it never used to be the case that he could be shut down, but it looks like people have figured him out. Is he really missing someone who sets a good screen?

He's in a shooting slump and if anyone has played sports then they know when you are in a slump you trend to start pressing which sometimes makes it more difficult to get out of it. No different than a baseball player that goes into a hitting slump. I expect him to work his way out of it and become a dominant scorer again. He's just not as perfect as the armchair experts in this forum.

 

[blazedanugz]

That’s not true

So you haven’t been watching the games this season? Or any other season?

 

[CupWizier]

This is going to seem like another bash CJ post but answer this question:

Does CJ care more about winning or individual stats and getting his?

and I would assume he is more concerned about winning like the majority of professional players.

 

[JDC]

Brutal stretch for him, which is unfortunate since I thought he looked great for large portions of preseason.

Floater touch is off, pull up game has completely abandoned him. Never going to be a guy the gets to line or rim at a high rate so he's always going to be heavily reliant on those kind of shots.

Passing vision / willingness is at an all time low.

No Nurk has hurt him too. His screening, playmaking, offensive rebounding and overall gravity has left him creating more with the ball in his hands and really has syphoned off a lot of his catch and shoot opportunities and assisted 2's.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

So, scoring-wise I think it's in his head. He'll probably eventually figure that part out. Now the other holes in his game, I'm just not sure those will ever change at this point.

 

[Blazers1977]

Before I give my opinion on what I think is “wrong with CJ” I want to mention that (1) this is not all on CJ, the team/coach is largely to blame, and (2) CJ is not playing as bad as everyone says.

On point (2):

CJ is playing a career-high 37 mpg. This comes when many other teams are resting their stars for entire games at a time. He was also playing 40+ min in the playoffs j

CJ so far is getting 18 ppg, shooting 38.5% from the field and and 42% effective. That’s bad, but it’s not THAT bad. Starting out for 9 games with these numbers is not worth trading someone over, not even close.

On point (1):

the entire team is a mess right now. We are dealing with new players, new injuries, new assistant coaches, new veterans, new rule changes, new court, new starting line up, new bench, new rotation after Zach injury, etc etc

you can’t just put the blame on CJ. Our whole team is in a funk. Just bc Dame is a God that can get 60 while being doubled doesn’t mean CJ should be expected to do the same. CJ needs better screening and ball movement to be effective.

As for “what’s wrong with CJ”:

(1) He doesn’t seem to be at his peak regarding physical conditioning. he had a very serious injury just months ago and he also went father into the playoffs than ever (more games + less time off).

(2) it is human nature to not be as driven when you get a contract like he did. We can criticize him for it, but it would happen to any of us. It’s impossible not to be motivated by that kind of money, and conversely to not have your motivation drop when the money is no longer at stake.

(3) as mentioned, he relies on a system to get good looks. Our offense is a mess right now from top to bottom.

I have faith in CJ. He isn’t a scrub. He works his ass off and he is a genuinely good dude. I honestly can’t believe how much people have turned on him just months after he carried us into the western conference finals against Denver.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

It's true that CJ looked very good in preseason, which deepens the mystery (unless it's just that nobody plays D in preseason):

 

[Rastapopoulos]

S

 

[BigGameDamian]

HE GOT PAID....CTC BITCHES!!!

 

[DDolla]

He already got his money and too much drinking wine.

 

[barfo]

didn't he recently get married? got a fat extension as well

If it's lasted for more than 4 hours he should probably see a doctor.

barfo

 

[hoopsjock]

Before I give my opinion on what I think is “wrong with CJ” I want to mention that (1) this is not all on CJ, the team/coach is largely to blame, and (2) CJ is not playing as bad as everyone says.

On point (2):

CJ is playing a career-high 37 mpg. This comes when many other teams are resting their stars for entire games at a time. He was also playing 40+ min in the playoffs j

CJ so far is getting 18 ppg, shooting 38.5% from the field and and 42% effective. That’s bad, but it’s not THAT bad. Starting out for 9 games with these numbers is not worth trading someone over, not even close.

On point (1):

the entire team is a mess right now. We are dealing with new players, new injuries, new assistant coaches, new veterans, new rule changes, new court, new starting line up, new bench, new rotation after Zach injury, etc etc

you can’t just put the blame on CJ. Our whole team is in a funk. Just bc Dame is a God that can get 60 while being doubled doesn’t mean CJ should be expected to do the same. CJ needs better screening and ball movement to be effective.

As for “what’s wrong with CJ”:

(1) He doesn’t seem to be at his peak regarding physical conditioning. he had a very serious injury just months ago and he also went father into the playoffs than ever (more games + less time off).

(2) it is human nature to not be as driven when you get a contract like he did. We can criticize him for it, but it would happen to any of us. It’s impossible not to be motivated by that kind of money, and conversely to not have your motivation drop when the money is no longer at stake.

(3) as mentioned, he relies on a system to get good looks. Our offense is a mess right now from top to bottom.

I have faith in CJ. He isn’t a scrub. He works his ass off and he is a genuinely good dude. I honestly can’t believe how much people have turned on him just months after he carried us into the western conference finals against Denver.

1) I completely agree that coaching is largely to blame here too. Why is CJ being run into the ground in early November when he's struggling?

2) I have no doubt that CJ will find his shot and get hot and his shooting %'s will look fine by the end of the year. However, the rest of CJ's game is the issue I have and that can't be explained away by different teammates this year. CJ's passing has gotten worse each of the 4 years since his breakout season in which he was a fairly decent passer. I completely disagree that he relies on a system to get good looks. He rarely plays within a system. This doesn't mean I'm saying he's a scrub. I agree that he's a good dude.

Just off the top of my head I can recall multiple times in each of the 9 games so far where CJ just flat out ignored an open teammate to take a contested shot when drawing multiple defenders. I can maybe see doing so when the game is on the line in the playoffs but starting off a new season with a bunch of new teammates don't you think it would be best for the team for CJ to at least try to help others get going, especially when his shot isn't falling? The Philly game in particular was when I had enough. In the first half Hood had hit 4 shots in a row and was wide open in the corner again and CJ drove in on 3 guys and missed. He even looked right at Hood and had a clear pass before shooting. Same game there was at least two times where Skal's man had left him to stop CJ driving down the paint and he shot and missed a floater instead of just dumping it off for an easy two. Still in that same game, there was a play where CJ gets a pick from Tolliver and both defenders go with CJ and Tolliver is standing at the 3 point line with no one within 10 feet of him. Instead of passing back to him CJ shoots and makes a 15 foot jumper with two defenders all over him. The problem isn't whether or not the shot goes in, it's that over the course of a season a teammate with an open shot should almost always be the priority over taking a tough contested shot. It's even more magnified when the person shooting is struggling. CJ can't blame his teammates for that. If time and time again he passes to someone in that situation and they continually miss then people wouldn't blame CJ at all. There are times when CJ can get hot and make a bunch of crazy shots in a row. He definitely had several of those moments in the playoffs. I just wish he'd try to get others involved first. A lot of his shots are early in the shot clock without any rebounders in position either. The difference between when Dame does it and when CJ does it is Dame often needs to shoot early before the defense is set otherwise he doesn't get a good shot later on. CJ can create a shot for himself at any point in the shot clock. Why not try moving it around first and then if nothing is materializing then let CJ create for himself?

 

[hoopsjock]

and I would assume he is more concerned about winning like the majority of professional players.

Okay, I'm glad you're willing to just assume he cares.