Veteran guard CJ McCollum returns tonight after recovering from a left foot injury. McCollum fractured his foot after playing 13 games on the season. Of course, he is a vital part of the Blazers’ offense and overall team chemistry. This season, over the course of the few games he has played, McCollum was headed for a potential All-Star season. Shams Charania reported the news Monday night.
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum will make his return to the lineup on Tuesday vs. New Orleans. He’s back from a fractured foot.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 15, 2021
McCollum was on a ridiculous scoring tear through the first part of the season. With a career average of 18.7 points a game, CJ was averaging 26.7 points a game before his foot fracture. In the second game of the season, he posted a 44 point performance. His lowest scoring game before injury came in the form of two 20 point performances. In the game he suffered his injury, he had 16 points in just under 19 minutes played.
McCollum may very well return to his scoring ways when he returns against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night. With 20 field goal attempts (a career-high) a game this season he is shooing 47.3% from the field this season. He is also averaging 11 three-point shots a game making them at a huge career high of 44.1%. He has been averaging 5.0 assists a game which is also a career high.
With a 22-16 record so far this season, the Trail Blazers are going to love having McCollum back in the roster. Over the course of the 13 games he played in, the Blazers were 8-5 overall. Since then they have gone 14-11. While that isn’t a huge difference in win percentage, there is no doubt that having a 20 point a night scorer is going to help.
