CJ McCollum scores 23 points, including the go-ahead bucket in the Hawks’ Game 3 win over the Knicks.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n This role and this moment wasn\u2019t originally designed for him or drawn up for him. This wasn\u2019t supposed to be CJ McCollum\u2019s time, not this season and certainly not with the Atlanta Hawks or in these playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Hawks groomed Trae Young for this. They drafted him, endured his weaknesses and celebrated his strengths and built the team around those until a few months ago when the franchise and the franchise player reached a fork in the road.<\/p>\n And so, who would replace him and eventually have the ball in his hands with playoff games on the line? How about a 34-year-old who spent his entire career \u2014 a solid one, though not star-filled \u2014 as a secondary option and now is in the homestretch of his basketball life?<\/p>\n Well: Why not CJ McCollum?<\/p>\n When the Hawks traded Young<\/a> to the Washington Wizards at the deadline and didn\u2019t receive a massive haul in return \u2014 certainly not the five first-round picks and a swap the New York Knicks shipped to Brooklyn<\/a> for Mikal Bridges \u2014 it was largely viewed for what it was, a move to avoid paying Young a potential maximum extension.<\/p>\n The Hawks were unwilling to do that, which was a show of no-faith. Which was their right. But in exchange, the Hawks didn\u2019t exactly cash in. They received McCollum (along with Corey Kispert), who was immediately asked to come off the bench. Yes, a role player for a franchise player.<\/p>\n A capstone for the renovation<\/p>\n Now, look: McCollum is among the most impactful players in these NBA playoffs and certainly a sudden hero in Atlanta, where a pair of massive shots in the final minutes of a pair of first-round Hawks victories have the Hawks up 2-1 on the Knicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, to recap: McCollum just slid into Young\u2019s role and is performing as good as Young would \u2026 or maybe even better. And at a fraction of the financial commitment.<\/p>\n This is why Onsi Saleh, the Hawks new general manager, is off to a tremendous start since taking over last spring. Not only did he have the guts to trade Young, who was a popular player in Atlanta, but he also swung another mid-season deal, for Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>. And neither is Saleh\u2019s most meaningful deal at least from a promise standpoint.<\/p>\n He traded down in last June\u2019s draft and scooped a 2026 unprotected No. 1 pick<\/a> from the New Orleans Pelicans, who will be in the lottery; that could land Atlanta a top-four or five selection in a stacked draft.<\/p>\n But while nominating Saleh for Executive of the Year, it\u2019s proper to salute one of the moves and the guy who helped make this possible, and that\u2019s McCollum.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019m closer to the end than the beginning,\u201d McCollum admitted. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about maximizing each day, maximizing the talent. The team has a huge faith in me and my talent. I think they appreciate my approach.\u201d<\/p>\n Quickly building a foundation in Atlanta<\/p>\n McCollum has endeared himself to everyone around him \u2014 fans, coaching staff, management, teammates \u2013 in a short amount of time, just two months. That speaks to his skills to connect; after all, McCollum is a former president of the player\u2019s union and it was his responsibility to bond with role players and superstars and the suits in the NBA office.<\/p>\n So from that standpoint, he was built for the one fringe benefit that he offers the Hawks \u2014 leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see the things on the court, the way he can make a big shot and make a play for someone else,\u201d said Hawks coach Quin Snyder. \u201cThe things most people don\u2019t see have had a big impact on our team. When he first got here I asked him to come off the bench \u2018cause I thought it was important to the other players and their role. I asked CJ to accept a different role than what he had.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a foundational moment that has allowed him to lead. That\u2019s the biggest thing for us, that he\u2019s a leader. He has not been a point guard but a `lead\u2019 guard and his voice has been important for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n McCollum has also used his voice as a bullhorn twice \u2014 in Game 2 when he let Madison Square Garden know about the Hawks and him following his tremendous fourth quarter<\/a> and finish, and then a handful of times Thursday<\/a> in State Farm Arena to roust the energy from the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to see,\u201d said Hawks swingman Dyson Daniels, who was previously teammates with McCollum in New Orleans. \u201cAnd he\u2019s having fun out there. He knows what it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n How he got here<\/p>\n McCollum\u2019s prime was spent in Portland, next to Damian Lillard, Robin next to Batman, although opponents always had a healthy amount of respect for McCollum. His ability to drop mid-range shots made him old school \u2014 a refreshing weapon in a league that emphasizes the 3. McCollum always managed to find the sweet spot on the floor, where the defense was absent, which allowed him plenty of open looks.<\/p>\n He has been traded twice since then, to the Pelicans and then Wizards; both situations were spent with teams in transition. In Washington, McCollum was viewed as prime trade material because he was on the final year of his contract and still had the goods to help a contender.<\/p>\n And here is, with a Hawks team that if nothing else has struck concern in New York.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jalen Johnson posts 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Hawks’ Game 3 win over the Knicks.<\/p>\n McCollum has assumed the lead singer role somewhat out of necessity. Jalen Johnson was an All-Star this season, is a strong candidate for All-NBA and at 24 the present and future face of the franchise who made Young expendable. But he hasn\u2019t played to that level through three playoff games partly because this atmosphere is new to him.<\/p>\n Same for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a 20-point scorer during the regular season connecting on just 31.7% of his attempts in this series.<\/p>\n Therefore, the \u201crole\u201d originally given to McCollum when he arrived has since changed drastically.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m comfortable with failure and I\u2019m comfortable with success,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve played for a long time. I could\u2019ve missed those shots and I\u2019d approach the game the same way. That\u2019s the sign of someone who\u2019s steady and a sign of someone who does things the right way. I know what it\u2019s like to struggle, to want to be in those situations. I\u2019ve gotten to the point where I\u2019ve never lacked confidence in those situations.\u201d<\/p>\n What comes next<\/p>\n McCollum is dangerous to the Knicks because he has no reason to fear anything. He doesn\u2019t feel pressure. He has made his money. He has already earned respect. He\u2019s secure with who he is and doesn\u2019t sweat about who he isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n That type of player will take the big shot and is willing to live with the result, one way or another.<\/p>\n And the results have been a massive gain, if not a surprising one, for the Hawks.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at\u00a0spowell@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CJ McCollum scores 23 points, including the go-ahead bucket in the Hawks’ Game 3 win over the Knicks.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,89412,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806],"class_list":{"0":"post-717644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cj-mccollum-knicks","10":"tag-knicks","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-knicks","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkknicks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116464991844477606","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}