CJ McCollum Articles - Page 11

Regardless of when the investigation into allegations of Neil Olshey fostering a “toxic” workplace was finished, Jody Allen almost certainly wasn’t going to find a better time to fire the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager than Friday morning. The Blazers included no conclusions from that probe in their announcement of Olshey’s dismissal, simply specifying […]

Since the beginning of the Ben Simmons trade saga, countless teams have been linked to the situation in rumors. One of the more consistent names that appeared throughout the summer was the Portland Trail Blazers. Primarily because Damian Lillard sits atop Daryl Morey’s wishlist, but both members of the Blazers’ starting backcourt would be an […]

Chauncey Billups touched on the pitfalls of Damian Lillard’s abdominal tendinopathy well before it was officially announced the Portland Trail Blazers superstar would be sidelined for at least the next 10 days. Lillard was clearly more affected by his nagging core injury than normal during Portland’s blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday. He […]

The Portland Trail Blazers survived the worst slump of Damian Lillard’s career in large part due to the individual brilliance of CJ McCollum. Portland’s “other” star guard played like an alpha dog when his team needed it most, picking up Lillard’s slack en route to averaging 23.8 points and shooting 44.2% on nearly 10 3-point […]

The Portland Trail Blazers woke up on Thanksgiving day at 10-9, alone at sixth in a loaded yet inconsistent Western Conference. Chauncey Billups’ team has at least somewhat righted the ship after a chaotic, discouraging start to 2021-22, and there’s ample reason to believe the Blazers’ best basketball awaits as they grow increasingly comfortable operating […]

Less than 10 days after an “embarrassing” blowout loss in the Mile High City, the Portland Trail Blazers got some much-needed revenge against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, beating Michael Malone’s woefully depleted squad, 119-100. The Blazers can only play who’s in front of them and hardly need to apologize for one of their best offensive […]

The Portland Trail Blazers earned a much-needed 118-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, emerging from a furious, back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter for an impressive victory on the second night of a back-to-back. A lot went right for the Blazers from the friendly confines of Moda Center when they needed it […]

The tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has been the franchise cornerstone of the Portland Trail Blazers for more than half a decade The Blazers own the league’s longest active playoff streak but have only once reached the Western Conference Finals. Though obviously talented, they’ve still always had something missing keeping them from legitimately […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fifth straight road game to open the regular season on Friday, falling to the LA Clippers 117-109 at Staples Center. After the game, Chauncey Billups bemoaned his team’s penchant for losing focus on defense away from the friendly confines of Moda Center, remarks echoed by Damian Lillard. The numbers, […]

Lost amid Damian Lillard’s career-worst slump and the Portland Trail Blazers’ ongoing adjustment to playing under Chauncey Billups have been the struggles of Robert Covington. Acquired for a pair of first-round picks before last season, Covington has hardly lived up to that price tag in the early going of 2021-22, struggling to find his footing […]

The Portland Trail Blazers definitely aren’t off to the start that they were hoping for. They are under new head coach Chauncey Billups. Damian Lillard is also playing the worst basketball of his career. Lillard is one of the best players in the league and there’s no reason to be worried about him continuing this […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are heading home to Rip City winless following Wednesday’s disappointing 107-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, finishing a quick Eastern Conference road trip 0-3. Here are three key takeaways from another frustrating Blazers defeat. The Wrong Kind of Dame Time Lillard’s fingerprints were all over crunch-time…just not in the way Rip […]

The All-Star Game may just seem like one game where the 24 best players in the league showcase their talents in front of millions of fans. For the players, this achievement means a ton because they are able to receive certain financial incentives and further burnish their reputations. Since the regular season tipped nearly two […]

C.J. McCollum began last season playing the best basketball of his life for the Portland Trail Blazers. Long pigeonholed into the very good but not-good-enough category of a team’s second-best player, he broke from that mold over the first 13 games of 2020-21, providing Portland a much-needed sense of upward mobility in the Western Conference. […]

Forty-eight hours after reaching their peak, the Portland Trail Blazers hit rock bottom. Chauncey Billups’ new team was embarrassed by his old one on Monday night at Staples Center, falling 116-86 to the LA Clippers. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ 30-point drubbing, one every bit as ugly as the final score indicates—if not […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers got both their first win of the regular season and the Chauncey Billups era in rousing fashion on Saturday night, blowing out the Phoenix Suns 134-105 at Moda Center. Here are four takeaways from Portland’s dominant victory over the reigning Western Conference champions, a game every bit as lopsided as […]

Rip City’s wait is over. In wake of the most dramatic, controversial offseason in team history, the Portland Trail Blazers finally open the 2021-22 regular season on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings at Moda Center. Here are three keys to watch for as Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and company look to tip off the […]

Candidacy for individual awards couldn’t be further from the Portland Trail Blazers’ minds as they prepare to host the Sacramento Kings. But just because Chauncey Billups, Damian Lillard and company are singularly focused on the task at hand doesn’t mean Blazers fans have better ways to kill time before tipoff of Wednesday night’s game than […]

The Portland Trail Blazers bookended exhibition action the same way it started, with a double-digit loss to the Golden State Warriors. Unlike the preseason opener and a dispiriting two games to follow, though, the Blazers’ performance in the preseason finale provided some optimism how about how they may play on both ends of the floor […]

There’s only so much to glean from any preseason basketball game, but especially the Portland Trail Blazers’ exhibition finale. Damian Lillard isn’t playing on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, and Chauncey Billups, remember, sees all preseason games as nothing more than a glorified extension of training camp practices anyway. No matter what happens […]

The Portland Trail Blazers labored through Wednesday’s rare matinee matchup with the Phoenix Suns, falling 119-74 despite Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic playing well into the third quarter. Chris Paul didn’t suit up for the Suns at all, while Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges watched the second half from the bench. […]

The NBA All-Star Weekend is definitely one of the most highly anticipated events of the season. While the Saturday Night festivities, headlined by the Slam Dunk Contest and 3-point Shootout, get the fans fired up, the main spectacle of the weekend is still undoubtedly the All-Star game on Sunday night. The 2021 edition was up […]

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the Portland Trail Blazers. No star tandem in basketball is more synonymous with their incumbent team than Portland’s, a reality owed both to Lillard and McCollum’s longevity in Rip City as well just how much of the Blazers’ sustained success has been driven by them. Portland owns the league’s […]

It turns out the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in trading Ben Simmons for the Portland Trail Blazers “other” star guard after all. Well, at least for a price that Daryl Morey must have known Neil Olshey would refuse to pay. Shams Charania of The Athletic and STADIUM reported on Friday that Philadelphia asked Portland for […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have long been rumored as a logical trade destination for disgruntled star Ben Simmons. However, the Philadelphia 76ers’ trade demands seem to border on the illogical side. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Sixers and Blazers indeed engaged in recent trade talks. However, the asking price for Ben Simmons was […]

One of the most consequential seasons in Portland Trail Blazers history tips off in exactly two weeks. Chauncey Billups’ team had the day off following its loss to the Golden State Warriors in the preseason opener, the second off-day Portland has enjoyed since training camp officially began September 28th. After a full week of practices—at […]

Analysis of the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense against the Golden State Warriors can wait, and there’s only so much to be gleaned from it in the first place. This is preseason basketball, remember, when offenses league-wide are expected to be ahead of defenses, let alone for a team with a rookie head coach who’s […]

The Chauncey Billups era in Rip City didn’t exactly live up to its promise during his team’s preseason debut. Gashed on defense from the opening tip and far too careless with the ball offensively, the Portland Trail Blazers fell 121-107 to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Moda Center. Portland coughed up 26 […]

Much of the talk heading into the start of the NBA season remains centered on the uncertain future of Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons. The three-time All-Star has been in the trade rumor mill ever since the Sixers’ shocking elimination at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the new season with low expectations once again. Ever since LeBron James left for LA, the Cavaliers have been struggling and this is still not the year where they will turn it around. Their roster is full of young, still raw prospects and it will take at least two more […]

Load management and limiting a star player’s minutes in the regular season is the hot new thing in the NBA. For Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum, though, he’d rather play more minutes if given the chance. When asked about potentially playing less in the regular season, the Blazers guard had this to say. (via […]

In today’s NBA, teams are constantly shifting pieces in an attempt to better set themselves up for the future. Trades don’t typically happen at this time of the year but are always a fun topic of conversation to get into. Here are two potential trade candidates for the Philadelphia 76ers as training camp reaches its […]

With the new NBA season about to begin in just a few weeks, all the talk lately has been centered on the continued refusal of some NBA players to get vaccinated against COVID-19. There have been several debates on the issue, including the ones pouring over on social media, and Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ […]

The most controversial and potentially consequential offseason in Portland Trail Blazers history is over. Media day is finally here, and with it come many unknowns about Portland’s present and future. Here are some of the most pressing questions the Blazers need to answer on Monday as they begin official preparations for the 2021-22 season. Where […]

Chauncey Billups believes what ailed the Portland Trail Blazers most on defense last season was attitude. He’s preached the significance of a team-wide commitment to that side of the ball since being named Terry Stotts’ replacement in late June, even going so far as to insist players who don’t buy into it on a possession-by-possession […]

All offseason, the basketball community has asked one question: What is going to happen with Ben Simmons? The former number one overall pick has made it abundantly clear that he has no intentions of returning to the Philadelphia 76ers. General manager Daryl Morey has actively been in trade discussions all summer, but an enticing deal […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are no doubt uncomfortable with the notion of honoring Ben Simmons’ trade demand as he continues to publicly flaunt their irreparably damaged relationship. Daryl Morey wants to win at everything, and placating a player in open breach of a max contract with four years and $147 million on it doesn’t exactly sound […]

Official preparations for the 2021-22 season begin in less than a week, and Ben Simmons seems no closer to moving on from the Philadelphia 76ers despite his best efforts to force a trade. The disgruntled three-time All-Star, in fact, reportedly has no plans to budge from his longtime stance of refusing to report to his […]

CJ McCollum has been hounded with trade rumors all summer long. The 29-year-old has been linked to a move away from the Portland Trail Blazers as the team looks to give superstar Damian Lillard the help he needs to take the squad to the next level. McCollum was once again asked to address the trade […]