The Portland Trail Blazers took huge hits in the offseason with major losses, but the emergence of a new prominent backcourt may be coming out of it. Third-year guard C.J. McCollum dropped his career-high of 37 points in the Trail Blazers’ season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. McCollum shot 14-for-22 from the field, 6-for-9 from three, and led Portland to a 112-94 victory.
McCollum had 22 points after the first quarter and 28 at the half. He did lots of his damage off the dribble. A few of his threes were catch-and-shoot, but a few were coming off of a ball screen and creating the shot in stride.
Damian Lillard, Portland’s $120 million man, finished the game with 21 points and 11 assists. Lillard is the primary option for the Trail Blazers, but players like McCollum are now encouraged to take on more aggressive roles. McCollum, who played 37 minutes on Wednesday night and averaged under 15 minutes per game in his first two seasons, looks to be salvaging the opportunity early on.
