J-Speaks: Two-Guards Down for Bucks and Trail Blazers

One big reason why the Milwaukee Bucks have the best record not just in the Eastern Conference but the entire National Basketball Association and the Portland Trail Blazers are battling for home court advantage in the stacked Western Conference is because they have had great health for much of the 2018-19 season. Over the weekend though both teams sustained the first significant injury to a key cog in their respective starting units. 

Bucks’ starting guard Malcolm Brogdon underwent an MRI for a sore right heel he sustained in the team’s 113-98 victory at the Miami Heat on Friday night, as well as an examination by team physician Dr. William Raasch at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin. The MRI revealed that the 2017 Kia Rookie of the Year has a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot. He will be out six-to-eight weeks but no surgery will be required. 

In the Trail Blazers 108-103 loss at the San Antonio Spurs less than 24 hours later, starting shooting guard CJ McCollum sustained a lower leg injury in the third quarter and did not return to the contest. 

“He’s so big for our team,” Trail Blazers’ All-Star guard Damian Lillard said after the loss about his worry for his starting backcourt mate. “You’re just concerned for that, too. That’s a big blow. He’s a guy that plays a huge role for us and is a big part of our team.” 

Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich echoed those same worried feelings when he said to reporters after the win by his team, “I feel bad for C.J. I hope he’s OK. He’s a great player and a great kid.” 

On Sunday, the 2016 Kia Most Improved Player recipient had an MRI, which revealed that he sustained a popliteus strain in his left knee and announced by the Trail Blazers. 

This was welcome news for the team and Trail Blazers’ fans across the state of Oregon, quelling the fears of a possible ACL tear or something much worse after McCollum landed very awkward following a drive to the basket in the third quarter where Spurs’ reserve big man Jakob Poeltl appeared to have come on McCollum’s left foot which seemed to compound the injury he sustained.

McCollum, who scored 10 points in 22 minutes remained on the court for a few minutes clutching his leg in great pain after tumbling out of bounds next to the right basket stanchion as his left-handed layup attempt was blocked by Poeltl. 

The 27-year-old Canton, OH native said after the Trail Blazers loss at the Spurs that he did not hear his knee pop but felt pain and discomfort in that leg immediately. 

“I don’t know the extent of it,” McCollum said after the game. “I don’t know if it’s lateral. I don’t know. I just know that it’s not normal.”

For both the Bucks and Trail Blazers, they both know that they will get their starting two guards back at some point. The Trail Blazers, whose 43-27 mark after their 106-98 win versus the Indiana Pacers (44-27) on Monday night on ESPN has them No. 4 in the West hope to get McCollum back before the playoffs starting next month. The Bucks hope to get Brogdon back if they make it to the Semifinals. 

“But you’re just happy it wasn’t a more long-term thing. It could have been a more serious injury,” Lillard said after the Trail Blazers victory versus the Pacers. 

What the Bucks (52-18) have in their favor is that they have the No. 1 Seed in the East and whether they play the current No. 8 Seeded Heat or the No. 9 Seeded Orlando Magic (33-38) or the No. 10 Seeded Charlotte Hornets (31-38) overtake the Heat for the last playoff spot in the East, they have enough talent to get them past the opening round for the first time since 2001. 

They have a top contender for Kia MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo to lean on as well as the likes of D.J. Wilson, Nikola Mirotic, first-time All-Star Khris Middleton, veteran guard George Hill and Brogdon’s fellow starting backcourt mate in Eric Bledsoe.

To put into context the kind of breakout season Brogdon, was having for first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer’s squad, he was averaging a career-high 15.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 28.6 minutes in the 64 times he played this season. 

The 27-year-old, who was the No. 36 overall pick in 2016 out of the University of Virginia will join Hall of Famers Steve Nash (four times), Larry Bird (twice), and Reggie Miller; two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry and 2014 Kia MVP Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and former All-Star lead guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers Mark Price as the only players in NBA history to shoot 50 percent from the field; 40 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line in a single season. Brogdon was shooting career-highs of 50.5 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from three-point range and was leading “The Association” at 92.8 percent from the free throw line this season. 

Besides what he brought in terms of his stats, Brogdon allowed Bledsoe to not worry about initiating the offense each Bucks possession and he was a very effective defender. 

Those intangibles were noticeably absent in the Bucks 130-125 loss versus the Philadelphia 76ers (45-25) on Sunday afternoon despite a career-high 52 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and two steals from Antetokounmpo, on 15 for 26 from the floor, with three triples and a stellar 19 for 21 from the charity stripe. 

While Middleton, Bledsoe and Wilson combined for 44 points, they shot just 15 for 40 from the field, including 7 for 19 from three-point range. 

Sharp shooting big man Nikola Mirotic, who started in place of Brogdon had just two points on 1 for 7 shooting, which included 0 for 6 shooting from three-point range. 

While the Bucks scored 43 points in the fourth period, the 76ers scored 41 points with 18 points by two-time All-Star Joel Embiid, who had 40 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, while four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler registered 14 of his 27 points in the final stanza.

“Whoever the Milwaukee Bucks get in the First-Round as long as Giannis suits up, they should they should win that round, all right,” NBA analyst and former player for the then New Jersey Nets, Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers Richard Jefferson said on the Monday afternoon edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN 2. 

“Malcolm Brogdon is a very good player. My pick for Rookie of the Year. I’m not disrespecting you but they should be able to beat anybody pretty handily in that First-Round. So, just let him rest don’t stressed about it.” 

For McCollum, his return depends on quickly he can rehab from his injury. Players who have had this injury can recover within a week or possibly be out for the entire postseason. 

A perfect example of this is former Trail Blazer Darius Miles had this same injury and returned after a one-game absence. In another instance, future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett had this same injury during the late stages of the 2008-09 season for the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. He missed the Celtics entire playoff run that ended at the hands of the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic in the Semifinals 4-1.

“I don’t like to miss games, but I’ve got to do what’s best for myself from a health standpoint, and doctors will sign off when they think I’m ready,” McCollum said before the Trail Blazers tilt versus the Pacers.  

While the Trail Blazers have put themselves great position to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season, whether they finish with homecourt advantage in the First-Round or whether they will begin the 2019 NBA Playoffs on the road next month will all depend on how the likes of Evan Turner, Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, and Lillard step up in the absence of McCollum and the 21.3 scoring output, on 46.3 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from three-point range that will be on the shelf for at least the end of the regular season. 

The Trail Blazers had a balanced attack in their victory versus the Pacers without McCollum led by the ninth double-double of the season by Lillard with 30 points and 15 assists. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while forward Al-Farouq Aminu had 16 points going 4 for 5 from three-point range. While the other starting forward Jake Layman did not score and missed all five of his field goal attempts, Hood and Curry each scored 11 points off the bench, with Curry going 3 for 6 from three-point range. 

“I guess being a little more hands-on and managing what’s going on out there, just knowing that a guy who averages 22 points isn’t on the floor,” Lillard, whose team had to battle back from an early 11-point deficit said after the win about not having McCollum on the floor. “It doesn’t mean I have to score more points, or dominate the ball, but just making sure that I’ve got control over what’s happening out there a little bit more.”  

The worst thing a team can have happen late in the season is an injury to a key of their respective rotation. If such an occurrence does take place, you hope to have adequate players ready to step in and hold the fort.

In the span of 48 hours the Milwaukee Bucks and the Portland Trail Blazers lost their respective starting shooting guards to injury. For the Bucks they will not have Malcolm Brogdon for the rest of the regular season and at least the opening round of the 2019 Playoffs. For the Trail Blazers, McCollum could be back within a week, before the playoffs or possibly not at all after he his re-evaluated next weekend. 

Both teams do have solid replacements that will keep them moving in the right direction and how the rest of the players step up will determine their chances of advancing in what will be a very competitive 2019 postseason beginning in the middle of this April. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/16/19 www.nba.com story, “Brogdon Out Indefinitely With Plantar Fascia Tear;” https://www.nba.com/games/20190316/PORSAS#/recap; 3/17/19 www.nba.com story, “McCollum Diagnosed With Strain In Left Knee;” 3/18/19 3 p.m. edition “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Richard Jefferson; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Brogdon; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._J._McCollum; www.espn.com/nba/standings; www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/por;  www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/recap?gameid=40107131; and www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/recap?gameid=401071717.