The Portland Trail Blazers close out a six-game road trip on Sunday with a matchup against the Toronto Raptors. C.J. McCollum, who missed nearly six weeks due to a collapsed right lung, has played in Portland's last three games. Will Portland's star shooting guard be back on the floor up north?
Is C.J. McCollum playing vs. Raptors
McCollum got off to a hot start in 2021-22, picking up slack left by Damian Lillard's career-worst, injury-related struggles. He averaged 23.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists over the first two weeks of the regular season, hitting threes at a 44.2% clip on nearly 10 attempts per game. McCollum cooled off considerably from there, though, shooting just above 40% from the field and averaging 18.7 points per game from early November to early December.
McCollum was initially listed as questionable with a rib contusion for Portland's tilt with the LA Clippers on December 6th. He was then downgraded to out on the final injury report, and the Blazers announced a day later that McCollum would be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a right lung pneumothorax.
Come back stronger, CJ McCollum š pic.twitter.com/LJSKxWMujY
ā Blazers Nation (@BlazersNationCP) December 8, 2021
On December 23rd, Portland announced McCollum's lung was fully healed and that he'd been cleared for non-contact drills. Though the team indicated another update on McCollum's status would come the following week, it has yet to announce any further details regarding his prospective return to the floor.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported on January 12th that McCollum and his wife, Elise, were soon expecting their first child, and that he'd be back in the lineup after the birth. Chauncey Billups confirmed before Portland's loss to the Denver Nuggets a day later that McCollum's son had been born, and that he would soon meet his team on the road.
āHeās doing great,ā Billups said of McCollum. āHeās probably not getting a lot of rest right now. But weāre expecting CJ to join us on the trip either next game or the game after. Weāre just not sure yet.ā
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Shams Charania of The Athletic subsequently reported that McCollum would make his long-awaited return versus the Orlando Magic on January 17th. Playing under a minutes restriction, McCollum scored 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the Blazers' 98-88 victory. He poured in 20 first-half points against the Miami Heat two days later, struggling down the stretch of Portland's hard-fought loss, then dropped 24 points, five rebounds and four assists in a win over the Boston Celtics.
āI feel good, I feel good,ā McCollum said after the Orlando game. āI worked extremely hard over the course of the last few weeks, conditioning, building my body back up, getting up shots even when Iām tired. I think you can tell.ā
Is McCollum playing against the Raptors? For the fourth straight game, he'll be back on the floor with the Blazers.
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