"The UTEP two-step" What I found most amazing about Hardaway is that he was essentially washed up in Golden State: Adelman was starting Avery Johnson over him because of the degeneration of TimBug's knees and he completely regenerated his career in Miami (despite his knees being essentially bone-on-bone.) Kind of blew it with the whole gay thing after his career was over, but to his credit, he seems to have repented.
Super high-end, ultra rare CJ McCollum rookie card for any collectors interested --> http://www.ebay.com/itm/182207092440
With CJ and Turner being os good at the midrange and great ball handlers we are going to have open 3's for DAYS
CJ is crafty and is not hyperdependent on athleticism - he'll be fantastic into his MID-30s. Hopefully, he'll be a Blazer4life. If he can improve his defense, then wow, wow, just wow!!
I never bought into the CJ dribbles too much critique. I love watching CJ. Does he dribble too much...... or is he just really patient? I am sure sometimes his patience can lead to over dribbling, but all these guys we have compared him to.... "over dribbled" at times as well. Personally I do not have an issue with it as long as his teammates continue to move without the ball. Attacking the basket and coming out the other side for a short pull up jumper has always worked against us (i.e Steve Nash and JJ Barea) so I am happy to see CJ do it to others. The defender always seems to stop in those situations.
The more I see of C.J., the more I think he's a truly unique player. As such, I think comparing him to other players doesn't do him, or them, justice. He's a true student of the game. He uses his knowledge and great handle to attack and exploit his opponents' vulnerabilities. He has great balance and his shooting form is textbook and consistent whether he's shooting a 25-foot 3-pointer or a teardrop floater off the glass. He does a remarkable job of reading the defense and knows exactly when to attack, blow by, split the double team, as well as when to step back, crossover or use a hesitation dribble to get his defender off balance. Yes, he does have a great crossover, but it almost looks like he's doing it in slow motion compared to Hardaway and Iverson. In that way he reminds me of Andre Miller. Miller looked slow as molasses and played below the rim 99.9999% of the time (yeah, we all remember that one dunk against Denver because it came as such a huge shock), but he was able to get by his man and score in the paint with uncanny regularity. He also has the best midrange jumper I've seen since Rip Hamilton. The difference being, Rip could not create for himself off the dribble the way C.J. can. Rip relied on constantly moving without the ball and running off an endless series of screens to get open for that little 15-foot elbow jumper. He was like an inside the arc version of Reggie Miller in that regard. Because of his handle, his crossover, his step back and his hesitation dribble, C.J. does not need those screens to get open. He can do it on his own. And, in that way, he does remind me of Brandon Roy. Roy also had that lull the defense to sleep, hesitation dribble for the pull up jumper that C.J. has. And, that elbow jumper can be a VERY effective weapon - if you can consistently knock down the shot the way C.J. can. Rip Hamilton made a career out of it, but I can't think of anyone since him, until C.J., that could consistently knock it down. That area is always vulnerable for defenses, but especially in today's NBA. It's the no man's land between the perimeter defenders, who are now taught their number 1 responsibility is to close out on 3-point shooters and run them off the line, and big men who are taught to lay back and protect the rim. Perimeter defenders have to respect C.J.'s 3-point shooting. So, when they come flying out on the close out, he uses a pump fake to get them off their feet, dribbles around them and pulls up for the midrange jumper before the big man can set up to challenge the shot. In addition to hitting the shot consistently, the other key is recognizing when it's available, and C.J. seems to have that down. Watching that video highlights one very important thing about C.J. McCollum, he truly is a student of the game. You hear that term tossed about a lot, but in this case, it really is true. He really does study and learn. The things you see on that video are learned, not instinctual (at least not naturally). He studies, learns and applies what he's learned on the court until those things become second nature to him. And, that bodes well for future improvement as well as a long successful career that does not rely on athleticism that eventually fades. It also gives me hope C.J. can, and will, improve on the defensive end. He has learned where defenses are vulnerable and how to exploit weaknesses in both individual opponents and team defensive schemes. Now he needs to apply what he's learned in reverse, how to limit his own defensive vulnerabilities, both individually and as a team defender. He knows he's not a great athlete. He's both slow and short for his position and not a great leaper. At 25, he's already figured out how to overcome those limitations offensively and thrive among the taller, faster, more athletic players in the NBA. He's a technician and a tactician excelling in a league dominated by great athletes. I look forward to seeing how much more he can improve, both offensively and especially defensively. He still has some upside, and I suspect his peak will last much longer than the typical 3 or 4 years of those who rely solely on their superior athleticism (Andre Miller was still a starter putting up PERs in the 18 range well into his mid-30s). Glad we have him locked up long term. BNM
I love watching CJ - and there is some truth to the resemblance to Roy (I said it myself many a times) - the way he works his body using his own crafty moves and change of direction to get where he wants to - but the big difference I think between them was that Roy was a power-player, he went for the contact and used it all the time to his advantage - where CJ works to avoid it as much and create space for himself. I think that Roy's bigger size and strength (and athletic gifts) was why he worked on absorbing and maybe even inviting contact - where CJ's smaller size has him working to create the space for himself. That's probably why Roy got a lot of free throws coming his way and CJ seems that he does not.
CJ Sucks, shouldn't have gone until pick #14, if that. I know that because LoudCity told me so... http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2015/6/22/8823613/nba-re-draft-2013-antetokounmpo-oladipo-bennett yes, I cherry picked a redraft written in 2015 instead of 2016. but, it just goes to show you how people thought back then...
It is funny how they talk about C.J.'s "consistent injuries", but fail to mention that he played in more games in his first two seasons (100 regular season + 11 playoffs) than the guy they did pick Shabazz Muhammad (75 regular season + 0 playoffs) and Rubio, the guy who "gives them depth at PG (98 regular season + 0 playoffs). It should also be noted that Rubio did play in all 82 games in his third season but them missed 60 games in his 4th season. If they had drafted C.J., he'd be the second best player on their team after KAT. Wiggins has the POTENTIAL to be better, and is younger, but right now C.J. is better. BNM
I was going to compare the shifty-ness of CJ to Roy in my earlier post. There is distinct similarity to the way they are both "shifty" . But decided to leave Roy off because Roy was much more imposing athletically than CJ is. CJ is 'crafty - er' - he gets the job done with less physical tools at his disposal. Despite some shortcomings physically, I gotta hand it to CJ, he has put in the hours working on his body. Compared to a few years ago, the rewards of that hard work in the gym are starting to show. He looks much stronger. Hats off to him . .
Like Lillard, you can tell C.J. is motivated to be the best he can be, and is willing to put in the work necessary to get there. We are truly blessed to have two guys like that on our team. BMM
Agreed - and especially great that they both seem sensible and grounded. I like that they both have the 'small school chip on their shoulder' and are proving a lot of "experts" wrong. Both picks were a slam dunk
I like the comparisons of Miller (cerebral-ness that makes the most of limited tools), Roy (crafty patient dribble), and Rip (deadly midrange). You probably have to add in Wes Matthews (rock solid three point range) as well. If he were about 3 inches taller, could finish at the rim, and had great defense he'd be the complete prototypical shooting guard for the modern NBA. It's funny how nobody in local or national media talks about upside anymore with him. If you took a vote on which Blazer will take The Leap this year, it'd probably be Harkless, Leonard or Aminu, or perhaps a shrug, depending on how optimistic you are about the team. But how often is a guy a done deal after starting for just one season? Why is 21ppg CJ's natural cap on scoring? Everything he did last year will only improve with more shots handed to him by a third distributor in Turner, with more experience against NBA defenses, with greater familiarity with his teammates, and with a $100m contract that labels him among his teammates and the NBA at large as an elite scorer. When Damian Lillard was 24 he had ridiculously similar stats to CJ. And people talked about him like he was a finished product too. Next year Lillard goes on to 25ppg (and if you think that's Dame's upper limit, well, you just aren't paying attention. He was only 25 last year.) CJ's growth isn't close to done. The Lillard/CJ parallels continue. They continue to sleep.
Mook, superlike your post, but I'll add a few points. 1) He's an inch taller than Joe Dumars, and nobody says "If Joe Dumars was 3 inches taller, he'd really be something." 2) The finishing at the rim thing is overblown. What does it matter if he gets to the rim dribble through and makes the 10 footer? We need some synergy sports work done to include these plays and recalculate his "finishing at the rim." My guess is that he'd be fine. 3) Defense is where CJ needs to improve, you nailed it, CJ knows it. He worked on it all summer. Hope it works out. 4) Because CJs game isn't based strictly on athleticism, he should be able to play well into his mid-30s. Rip Hamilton average 14.1 ppg when he was 33, and followed that up by averaging 11.6 and 9.8 in reduced minutes - CJ could match that. 5) We are currently too deep, and have Lillard. Otherwise, CJ could average 25 this year. Instead of ppg, I'll be judging CJ by Blazer wins. 6) To reiterate your points, CJ is a student of the game. He's not at his peak at all - plenty of room for improvement. 7) Love to hear him on Blazer Broadcasting when he's done with his career. We could be enjoying CJ for a VERY long time!!
We're deep, but not with a lot of guys who you feel really deserve that third banana status. Basically a lot of opportunistic scorers who can't dribble or create (aside from Turner). If CJ decides he's going to take 20 shots (the same number as Dame), nobody is going to stop him, or really even complain that much. Everybody has their contract. I think Portland's identity this year could be, "They have two guys who will probably stick 50 points on you. Oh yeah, and a bunch of pretty good role players who can hit theirs when you focus too much on the Big Two." That's my hope anyway. It's just always a tough out whenever you face a team with two such scorers.
