Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts isn't happy with the way people are framing CJ McCollum's season thus far. The star guard is struggling through a rough patch over his last 11 games. He's shooting 41 percent from the field and just 26 percent from deep during that stretch.
But Stotts is unhappy with reporters who he feels are trying to question his effectiveness.
“I think he is giving good effort,” Stotts told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “He’s probably not shooting the ball as well as he would like, or we would like, but I think he is competing. He was guarding [Russell] Westbrook 9who finished with 31 points). Unfortunately for CJ, people are going to tie his play into how he’s shooting the ball. He hasn’t shot the ball as well as we expect, or he expects Q … so unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the sole determinant of how he’s playing this year.”
Stotts wouldn't say much more but later called Quick into his office to challenge his line of questioning regarding McCollum. That shows Stotts' commitment to his player, but Quick notes that Stotts could not give him a solid answer on how McCollum is impacting the game outside of scoring.
All players go through slumps. It's part of the game and is something CJ McCollum is experiencing right now. He knows his coach has his back with the media, but at a certain point, McCollum needs to snap out of this slump and start shooting the ball like he's capable.
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