Last year, CJ McCollum was forced to be on the sideline as the Blazers prepared to begin what would be the franchise’s best in 14 years.
“Obviously I was going through that injury and it was a tough time. I wasn’t able to do as much as I would like with the team and kind of being involved in a full preseason,” McCollum said after finishing his first full preseason as a pro.
McCollum’s foot injury set him back before he could get on level footing with the league. Over the offseason McCollum promised to work on his quickness and the results have shown.
“I was coming off an injury last year and wasn’t necessarily moving as fast-paced as I would have liked. I’ve improved my speed a lot as far as speeding up on ball screens and adding that extra gear back to where I had in college and maybe even a little bit more.”
Damian Lillard said of McCollum: “On fast breaks, he looked like he was in slow motion because he wasn’t used to the speed. Now he just upped his speed and his game is showing it. How he can get places on the court, he’s a better passer and he’s really confident.”
Few times last season was he able to display those skills. He’s flashed a brilliant knack for scoring, but when asked about his overall preseason performance, he focused on his defense.
” I felt I played OK. I had some solid moments and I think I defended pretty well,” he said. “I felt like I was really active with my hands on and off the ball, doing a better job of chasing guys and really working on the little things.”
But now Mo Williams is gone and while Steve Blake is a lock to contribute on a nightly basis for coach Terry Stotts, the Blazers will still need a scoring punch off the bench to go with Chris Kaman. But McCollum has also worked to be a better, more aggressive decision maker.
McCollum has gotten more minutes down the stretch of the preseason being used as the first perimeter player off the bench, and it looks clear that the improved McCollum has earned a spot in Stotts’ rotation for opening night.
“I’m definitely pretty confident right now,” McCollum said. “I’ve put a lot of work in over the course of my career and especially this last year or so and I just want to go out there and play as hard as I can.”
After scoring 19 points and six assist in his first start on Oct. 12, Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers raved about McCollum.
“He’s going to be a good player in the league for a long time,” Rivers said.
Finally with a full training camp and a year to get in better shape, it appears McCollum can finally showing those who didn’t see him at Lehigh, the type of basketball he can play but knows it’s not just about scoring on a team flush with scoring options.
“Sometimes you have to take care of the ball and make sure you’re doing a good job defensively of limiting easy opportunities to make it difficult,” he said. “I think bring a lot of different things to this team and I just look forward to utilizing them.”
But after not being able to go through a preseason last year, McCollum is “thankful” for getting one under his belt.
“I’ve put a lot of work in over the course of my career and especially this last year or so and I just want to go out there and play as hard as I can.”
