As the Blazers welcome back C.J. McCollum tonight, much doubt still remains about his value to the Blazers and if he and Dame will ever be enough to make a big playoff run in the West.
While CJ has never officially been named an NBA All-Star, his offensive repertoire is certainly at that level, and former NBA player Sam Mitchell believes it’s enough to call him the best sidekick in the league.
“When you look at how he was playing — increased his scoring average from 22 to 26. And the thing that’s amazing to me, every year, people keep asking the question: do we need to break up C.J. and Dame cause they haven’t made that deep run yet? No! How are you going to replace 26 points and all the things that he does offensively?
He may be the best ‘number two’ in the league, period, when you look at number twos and what he brings to the table.”
“He may be the best No. 2 in the league.” @SamMitchellNBA reflects on CJ McCollum’s impressive season ahead of his return to the lineup #GameTime https://t.co/jNBOXMHVvK
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 16, 2021
When you consider all the “number twos” currently in existence (Anthony Davis, Paul George, Ben Simmons, and more) putting McCollum at the top is certainly a debatable move, and many fans just weren’t feeling it.
https://twitter.com/themasssk/status/1371965371637448708
As much as I like CJ's game, this is a fire-able take.
— Spencer Clare (@saclare) March 16, 2021
What a ridiculous take lol
— Will. 🏀🦅 (@WiLLns23) March 16, 2021
Does he live in a world where A.D and James Harden don't exist?
— Artieballz (@Artieballz1) March 16, 2021
Best number 2 in the league!? C'mon Sam, i'm a fan of McCollum, but definitely not the best # 2. Kyrie, AD,Harden,CP3, Jaylen Brown. Are you telling me you'd take him over any of those guys?
— merv b (@mervb050) March 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/anthonydavisinc/status/1371965597769031681
For what it’s worth, McCollum is averaging 267 points per game this season as the secondary scorer in Portland. Though he’s missed a significant chunk of time due to injury, the hope is that his presence will help lift the team and put them in a position to compete in the playoffs.
Love him or hate him, you got to recognize how important C.J. is to his team.
