Which Portland Trail Blazer Will See the Biggest Role Shift in 2014-15?
C.J. McCollum's NBA career didn't get off to the start the Portland Trail Blazers were hoping for. A broken foot put a halt to his first season before it began, limiting the No. 10 pick to just 38 contests throughout his rookie campaign.
As a result, McCollum never fully got into the flow of the offense. By the time he returned, the team was already an impressive 26-9, making it difficult to throw him into an established rotation.
In 2014-15, don't expect the same narrative. In fact, as The Oregonian's Joe Freeman put it, "One thing has become clear to me this preseason regarding the second-year guard from Lehigh: He sure would make one heck of a sixth man."
Giving McCollum sixth-man honors at this point may seem a bit premature, but it's clear his role is about to increase. With health on his side and the "luxury" of being on an underachieving bench, the opportunity to succeed is far greater now than it was a year ago.
So what can we expect from McCollum in his second season? Simply put: what we were hoping for in his first.
Entering the Association, McCollum drew natural comparisons to Damian Lillard. Like Lillard, the strengths revolved around scoring. The two thrived in college at putting the ball in the basket, and they both excelled from long range.
The concerns were also similar. Not only did both face criticism regarding their small-school backgrounds (more specifically: their inferior competition), but there was the question of whether they could become better distributors at the professional level.
At this juncture, it's safe to say Lillard has proven doubters wrong despite needing to improve in a few key areas. McCollum, on the other hand, will use 2014-15 to begin doing just that.
Coming off a botched rookie year, half the battle is going to be mental. But that shouldn't be a concern for the mature sophomore, who says he's feeling "a lot more comfortable," according to The Oregonian's Mike Richman:
"It comes from getting reps. It comes from having half a year under your belt and kind of getting more acquainted with the system, but I'm definitely getting more comfortable each night. I'm definitely confident because I've put so much time in, put so much work in and I feel like it's going to all pay off.
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The question here becomes: Where does McCollum fit into the rotation? If he's going to earn sixth-man status, he'll have to compete with a group of reserves all looking to improve.
On the current depth chart, courtesy of ESPN.com, McCollum is the third-string shooting guard behind Wesley Matthews and Will Barton. However, with Barton splitting time at the 2 and the 3 last year, the former Lehigh guard shouldn't be concerned about getting run in the rotation.
Additionally, don't count out the idea that McCollum will see minutes at the 1. Although Steve Blake will be a reliable shooter and playmaker, he's the only floor general on the roster behind Lillard.
Blake, 34, has only played an average of 51 games the past three seasons. Assuming he requires rest at some point, McCollum will be right there to make up for the loss.
In fact, Blake himself has become a fan of the young guard's game early in their time together. "He can do a little bit of everything," Blake said in the Freeman story linked above. "He's got a really nice shot from the outside, he's athletic, he can get to the rim and finish and I think he's starting to develop a nice passing game, which will help open him up some more."
Without question, McCollum still has to prove his worth at the NBA level. Consistency on offense is going to be a theme to watch, as well as improvement on defense. However, the potential is there to be a big-time scorer on this prolific offense.
While we may not know exactly what the future holds for McCollum, we do know this: He's about to get his first real opportunity to prove he's capable of playing at a high level.
What he does with that opportunity is up to him, but it's safe to say that 2014-15 will be his best shot so far at a true coming-out party.
