He almost the same age as Harden, how "gradually better" is he going to get? I'd rather a younger player with upside and a HORDE of picks. CJ is what he is, which is fine but won't set you up going forward or win big now.
I never mentioned Harden, I was talking 2nd offensive options around the league. CJ (3 jay) would be more adequate for the Worriers, Philly and so on. Or any playoff team in need for a scorer.
Yeah, culprit of those superteams was 90% Lebron James and his recruiting skills. Why I said it is very unlikely and only guys like LBJ, the Warrior front office, Durant can pull that off. OKC, Spurs and Celts lucked out and drafted extremely well. Downside is McCollum is pretty small, not defensive minded enough and therefore people do not like him as much.
McCollum could fit the Ray Allen role when he won the ring with Pierce and KG. Yup drafting well is paramount to success. Blazers would’ve been unstoppable had they taken KD instead of Oden and if Brandon Roy could’ve stayed healthy. Roy/KD/LMA yikes. Too many would’ve could’ve though.
I think it was a Blazers tradition to draft bigs over perimeter players. Bowie over Jordan all day for them.
CJ is the secondary ball handler for Portland and is averaging 28 ppg. He's also averaging 6 assists and less than 1 turnover. Like I said, Rockets fans would love CJ.
A better question is how many playoff series have Dame & CJ won despite not having HCA. The answer is 3. You might remember the first one, in 2014. Then vs Clippers in 2016. Then vs Denver in 2019. CJ has more clutch playoff moments in one series (Game 4 and Game 7 vs Denver) than Harden has in his entire Rockets career. CJ always ups his scoring in playoffs while Harden consistently gets worse in playoffs. Look up the numbers. It's unbelievable. Let's study their biggest moments: James Harden in Game 7 on the road: 2/13 from 3, 12/31 from the field, 5 turnovers, 32 points, L CJ in Game 7 on the road: 17/29 FG, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 37 points, W Rockets fans would love CJ
CJ is a better postseason player than Harden. He's also a better person. By far. Someone you can be proud of. Not the kind of a guy who would skip protocol and training camp to hang out at strip bar. Dame and CJ have been swept 3 times but Shaq O'Neal was swept 5 times before winning his first title. You learn from the experiences and then grow from them. Like I said, Rockets fans would love rooting for CJ.
If they have been swept 3x’s with McCollum as a number 2, how in the hell has CJ been better than Harden as a Rocket when they haven’t been swept at all. Especially since they play IN THE SAME DAMN CONFERENCE?
cj is lighter than harden, and to a lot of lin fans from that part of the world thats all that matters
CJ could not carry an entire Team for years, MVP (should have been 2), and almost took out the Hampton 5 with CP3. Perennial scoring champ. That’s quite a resume. What has CJ done? Harden will not win a championship unless he bows and cowtows to the basketball Gods. Mark my words. There is no “beating” the system. Morey tried with Morey ball. Stopped dead in it’s tracks by zebra goons.
Plus the dude had a horrible injury just last year. He's like a poor man's version of Klay Thompson. If we gonna trade Harden for somebody like CJ I'd rather trade him to GSW for Klay and Wiseman.
Dude's either trolling or just dumb man. Even Dame will tell you Harden's better than CJ. Hell CJ's mother will prob tell you Harden's better than CJ. Ignore posters like that they just want attention.
If you're keeping score at home, CJ is 3rd in the NBA in scoring right now on 47/44/88 shooting. Harden is 9th in the NBA in scoring on 46/38/88 shooting. Maybe Harden's better, who knows, but Rockets fans would love rooting for CJ.