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The Portland Trail Blazers will be without CJ McCollum for an extended amount of time due to a fractured foot, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.
Portland Trail Blazers say CJ McCollum will be re-evaluated in four weeks with a small hairline fracture to the lateral cuneiform in his left foot and a mid-foot sprain.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 19, 2021
McCollum last played in the Blazers' 112-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks on January 16. He was forced to exit the game at halftime after playing 18 minutes and scoring only six points.
This is a tough blow for Portland as the team is already without the services of Jusuf Nurkic for at least eight weeks. The Bosnian big man injured his wrist on January 14 against the Indiana Pacers.
In 29 games thus far, CJ McCollum holds averages of 26.7 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. The prolific guard has been shooting the ball really well, boasting a 44% from long distance. All these numbers are career-highs for the Lehigh product.
Prior to his injury, McCollum and Damian Lillard were in conversations as one of the best, if not the best, backcourt duo this season. Sans the former, Dame Time will have to occur more often for the Blazers to keep their heads above water.
For his part, Lillard is already regarded as one of the best players in the league. He's highly capable of shooting the lights out on any given night.
However, Terry Stotts must get extra creative with his rotations to manage Lillard's workload considering the condensed schedule. Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood are expected to elevate their usage during McCollum's absence.
As of this writing, the Blazers hold a record of 8-6, tied with the San Antonio Spurs and only 2.5 games behind the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers.
