CJ McCollum Joked The Starters Were ‘Holding The Team Back’ As Shorthanded Blazers Blew Out The Sixers

The Portland Trail Blazers have really struggled with injuries this season, as they’re currently without CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Zach Collins all currently out long term and also saw Damian Lillard suffer an abdomen injury and Derrick Jones Jr. suffer a foot injury that kept both out on Thursday night.

As such, there weren’t exactly high expectations for the shorthanded Blazers against the 15-6 Sixers in Philadelphia on Thursday, but, as they say, that’s why they play the games. Despite a 30-point first half from Joel Embiid, Portland’s rag-tag group hung tough and kept things tied at 57-57 at halftime. In the third quarter, they bludgeoned the Sixers, outscoring them 40-19 to take a 21-point lead, one they’d hold onto for a comfortable 121-105 win in a bit of a shocker.

After that third quarter, McCollum, who has been a delight on Twitter while watching games from home, joked that it was he, Dame and the rest who are hurt who were “holding the team back.”

Obviously that’s not the case, but it’s a great reaction from McCollum to see the heavy underdog Blazers come out and dust the Sixers in the second half. He offered a more serious assessment of what he was seeing afterwards, too.

Gary Trent Jr. and Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Blazers, combining for 46 points on the night on 7-of-13 from three-point range.

Four others — Enes Kanter, Rodney Hood, CJ Elleby, and Anfernee Simons — had 14 points or more in the win, as, like McCollum noted, a lot of Portland’s young players got some extended burn in bigger roles on Thursday, which for a team that’s had depth questions could prove quite helpful later on this season.