Trail Blazers' CJ McCollum Ruled Out vs. Mavericks After Suffering Ankle Injury

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum was forced to leave his team's road game against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday after suffering a sprained left ankle.

The injury occurred with 8:04 remaining in the second quarter after McCollum attempted a layup. Jason Quick of The Athletic provided more information:

McCollum has remained a reliable scorer for the Blazers, averaging 21.9 points per game entering Friday as the No. 2 option behind Damian Lillard. This comes after posting at least 20 points per game in each of the last four seasons and averaging nearly 78 games played per year in this stretch.

The 28-year-old has become one of the most consistent producers in the NBA while always being capable of exploding for a big game on any given night.

It makes any absence a significant one for Portland, especially if the guard is out for an extended stretch. With the squad struggling to compete for a playoff spot one year after reaching the conference finals, an injury to McCollum could be especially damaging.

The one positive is the increased scoring depth on the roster compared to past seasons.

Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside have provided the team with some offensive options in the frontcourt, which could help generate some offense outside of Lillard with McCollum unavailable. Anfernee Simons should see more playing time as well, but backcourt depth will be an issue.