Blazers’ CJ McCollum to Miss a Month Due to Fractured Foot

• Blazers guard CJ McCollum will miss at least the next four weeks due to a fracture in his left foot
• McCollum was injured in the first half of Saturday’s win over Atlanta
• Blazers’ odds to win the 2021 NBA title sit at +4000

Just a few days after star center Jusuf Nurkic went down with a broken wrist, the Portland Trail Blazers have been dealt another blow. On Tuesday, the team announced that guard CJ McCollum will be out at least the next four weeks due to a fracture in his left foot and a midfoot sprain. The Blazers say the fracture was discovered after additional testing was conducted on McCollum’s foot, which was injured during Saturday’s 112-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

McCollum suffered what the team called a left foot sprain early in the game against Atlanta. He wound up continuing to play until leaving the game for good at halftime. McCollum appeared to get hurt when Hawks center Clint Capela inadvertently landed on McCollum’s foot after a layup in the first quarter.

Head coach Terry Stotts said after the game that X-rays ruled out a more serious injury, but now the Blazers will be without one of their most important players for at least the next month. Stotts said Monday the foot would be reevaluated in at least another week, but those additional tests showed a “small hairline fracture to the lateral cuneiform” in McCollum’s foot.

Blazers’ Odds Trending In the Wrong Direction

Portland was a trendy pick to win the Western Conference coming into the season, with TNT analyst Charles Barkley even going as far as to wager on the Blazers to win the championship back in December. The team has gotten off to a passable 8-6 start, but their recent injury woes may prove problematic to their chances of competing for a Northwest Division crown.

The Blazers were trounced 125-104 by the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in their first full game without both McCollum and Nurkic. Enes Kanter has started the last two games in place of Nurkic, while Rodney Hood drew the start on Monday for McCollum. Both players have given Stotts good minutes this season, but the team’s depth will be a major question mark moving forward.

Hood wound up scoring 21 points in 25 minutes in McCollum’s place. Damian Lillard, who will have to take on an even bigger offensive role in the meantime, led the way with 35 points on 23 shots in the loss to San Antonio. Stotts had to dig deep into his bench on Monday, with Gary Trent Jr., Nassir Little, and Anfernee Simons all earning minutes off the bench.

Portland currently has just the third-best odds of winning the Northwest Division this season at +375, which puts them behind both Utah (+105) and Denver (+140). The Blazers have the seventh-best odds of any team to win the Western Conference at +2000, while their odds of winning the NBA title this season have drifted to +4000.

Lillard’s MVP Case

If anything, the injuries improve Lillard’s chances of competing for MVP honors. Lillard was named MVP of the Orlando restart for his efforts in leading the Blazers to a playoff berth last summer, and he’ll have to play at a comparably high level in order to keep Portland afloat amid a rash of injuries this year. Lillard (+2000) is among the favorites to win MVP this season, but he’s still well behind the likes of Luka Doncic (+400), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+450), Kevin Durant (+800), and Nikola Jokic (+800), among others.

The timing of McCollum’s injury is particularly cruel considering he is in the midst of the most productive season of his career. The former lottery pick is averaging a career-best 26.7 points per game along with 5.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds. McCollum ranks ninth in the league in scoring.