Okay, now we've seen him play in Summer League, who do you think CJ is? One thing's for sure: he's not Damian Lillard. But is he Ben Gordon? Give an NBA comparison and explain. (I don't think he's Ben Gordon. For one thing I don't remember Gordon fighting so hard for rebounds. That alone give me hope for CJ. But he's definitely an undersized SG who's not an elite athlete, so he has to be an incredible scorer to make up for it.)
Come on. It was always clear that Jerryd Bayless didn't understand basketball. He was (is) just a collection of fanatically self-taught skills that never cohered because he didn't really recognize that there were other people on the court. Yes, neither guy is a PG and both have about the same height. But CJ doesn't have those stumpy arms and is "crafty". Bayless just barreled to the hoop every time hoping to get bailed out with a foul. Wow, I thought I'd be the naysayer. Turns out people are much more down on CJ than I thought.
thats the guy I've been thinking is an apt comparison. Both are decent athletes & great shooters at around the same size STOMP
I'd say what McCollum's done in the summer league is pretty impressive considering these are his first 4-5 actual games since breaking his foot...I've seen enough in the SL (combined with what I saw in College) to know he is going to be AT WORST an excellent piece off the bench. If he gets better than that and deserves to start down the road, he becomes a very valuable trade asset, barring we still have a solid starter at the 2. Wasn't that the whole point of Olshey's plan? Make the team more competitive while compiling assets? Posting/reading this board has become almost unbearable because of a select few posters who have adopted this "bitch about everything and repeat it in every thread" schtick...
Who said he was? Lillard was billed as the top PG in the draft last year and proved to be the best rookie period. CJ did not play PG last year, so I don't know why anyone would compare the two. To me it was always obvious that he is an undersized SG who will come off the bench and eventually give us 25-30 minutes. He will also act as our 3rd string PG when injures occur. He is a better ball handler than I thought though. He just isn't a NBA PG....yet. CJ can play. It is insane if any of you are looking at his stats these last 6 days and think they are a useful way to evaluate him. I have said before that I think the NBA is changing and a shorter SG is not as much of a detriment as it used to be. But most of us have said all along he would not start. But who is he? A SG who can actually dribble, pass, and shoot off the dribble from every range. Something we lack other than from Lillard. The two of them together will be fun to watch. No doubt there will be some match ups where playing both just won't work. So what, you have others who can fill in. Bottom line is he is a scorer who can pass and dribble, and create offense for his teammates. Nothing wrong with that.
Am I the only one who thinks the summer league guys will look a lot better when playing with a really really good point guard? Which the Blazers just happen to have on their team?
Definitely. This team lacked a real point guard and suffered for it. I actually liked Barton more at the point than CJ. But, put this guys (all role players) in with some solid talent around them and I think they will look good. Look how much better Leonard looked on the PnR with Lillard last year. Robinson will look much better I'm sure. Claver too. Not sure about Freeland, but I like his new focus.
My big problem with trying to evaluate CJ at the moment is that I haven't seen how he handles the ball against any sort of pressure. Without any pressure he seems to handle it just fine to play ten to fifteen at point guard without being too much of a liability.
Snap judge much? Five summer league games back since a foot injury put him on the sidelines last year and you guys are ready to mark his ceiling? Sheesh. I think that CJ showed enough that I'm excited about what he could do playing on a real NBA roster where teams only get to double him if they want to leave Damian open. That said, I think he'd be the first to admit that he has a lot to learn. Fortunately, he has all summer and a training camp to prepare him for his rookie season. Maybe by the end of that season it might be reasonable to talk about what his ceiling is as a player.
One thing I love about this forum. If someone is on, then he's the next great hope. The moment he has a bad game, people are saying "bust". Calm the fuck down people! Shit! CJ will come in and be a good player. Fucking Barton is playing point! Do you even know how fucked up that is? How about we make some real assessments when the actual season starts?
