“Emotionless” McCollum Not Worried About Slump

With 81 games in the books, the Portland Trail Blazers are suffering from an offensive drought at a terrible time. The team has not locked down the third seed in the Western Conference, and much of that falls on their star back court.

CJ McCollum is not worried about his recent long range shooting woes, according to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com.

Instead McCollum is using a meditative technique to try and eliminate emotion from the equation altogether.

He lives by a state of mind called “apatheia,” a concept he adopted after reading a book he now often carries with him: “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday. Apatheia is described as “the kind of calm equanimity that comes with the absence of irrational or extreme emotions.’’

Rather than focus on the emotional aspect of the game, McCollum has doubled down on analytics and shooting charts to correct his shooting woes. Over his last ten games, McCollum has shot just 16-of-59 (27.1%) from three-point range, and 4-of-22 over the Blazers current four-game losing streak.

“I live with the result, man,’’ McCollum said. “I know who I am. I know what I can be out there. I have confidence in myself. I don’t get discouraged over a few poor shooting nights. I don’t get overly excited over a few great shooting nights.’’

Portland hosts the Utah Jazz on Wednesday for their final contest of the regular season.