The injury bug continues to decimate the Portland Trail Blazers. With shooting guard Rodney Hood and big men Jusuf Nuric, Zach Collins and Skal Labissiere already out with injuries, the team suffered another injury blow with CJ McCollum falling down to an ankle injury.
Going up for a routine layup against the Dallas Mavericks, McCollum landed weirdly and sprained his ankle. The 28-year-old immediately left the game and headed to the locker room.
CJ McCollum turns an ankle, heads to the locker room 🤮 pic.twitter.com/HsJlJUmHQH
— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) January 18, 2020
The Blazers eventually ruled McCollum out for the rest of the game with what they are calling a left ankle sprain.
CJ McCollum (left ankle sprain) will not return.
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 18, 2020
CJ McCollum has been a star for Portland for the past four seasons and has paired up with point guard Damian Lillard to give the Blazers one of the best backcourt duos in the NBA.
This season, McCollum is averaging 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Before leaving the game against the Mavs, McCollum had recorded four points, two assists and one rebound in 12 minutes.
It is unknown at this time how long McCollum will be sidelined with the ankle injury, but at 18-24 on the season, Portland desperately needs their star players to be healthy if they want to compete.
After making the Western Conference Finals last season, the Blazers find themselves out of the playoff picture more than halfway through this season.
With both McCollum and Hood out for the Blazers, expect to see increased minutes for second-year guard Anfernee Simons and veteran wing Kent Bazemore.
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