With the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors well underway, Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum shared his thoughts on the team on the latest edition of his Cadence13 "Pull Up” podcast. CJ spoke on on Boogie’s maturity and growth (and how injuries can change your mentality), the Warriors being the best and most unselfish team, and the sacrifices Golden State has made, including Klay, Draymond, KD and especially Steph Curry:
CJ McCollum: “I think we’re both right [about Boogie]. He’s showing everything he’s playing, he’s playing the game the right way. And Steve Kerr said it at the press conference, he said, ‘Boogie’s been great. He told me, look, however way you see me fit, play me that way. I’m in, don’t worry about trying to get me acclimated to the team, don’t worry about my touches, I’ll figure it out. You know, you play me what you see fit.’ And I think that shows…a level of maturity and a sign of growth because the old Boogie, I don’t think he would’ve came into this situation with that same mindset.”
Jordan Schultz: “Like early Kings Boogie.”
CJ McCollum: “Early Kings Boogie. I don’t think he would have been thinking this. I think the fact that he’s gone through what he’s gone through, the injuries, that gives you a different type of perspective. When you get hurt, it changes your mentality. It changes your mindset, it changes your thought process on everything, and you start to really see [the] bigger picture because something you’ve loved your whole life is literally taken away from you and you can’t do it. And that puts you in a spot to be vulnerable and to be comfortable being vulnerable. And I think that he’s grown. He’s been around so many unselfish players. This is the most unselfish team in the NBA…and the most talented, from top to bottom. We talk about sacrifice. Klay—he sacrifices, and it ends up costing him All-NBA. Draymond has been sacrificing. KD sacrifices. Steph, obviously he’s [a] two-time MVP, first unanimous ever. He sacrifices two-time MVP, unanimous one year, has never won it in the finals, [never been] MVP [in the] finals. Crazy.”
McCollum and co-host Jordan Schultz also shared their thoughts on whether or not Andre Iguodala is a Hall-of-Famer:
Jordan Schultz: “I made the comparison [of Andre Iguodala to]….
CJ McCollum: “…Robert Horry?”
Jordan Schultz: “Yeah. Did you see that?”
CJ McCollum: “I didn’t see it, but I thought it when I thought about Robert Horry’s career…”
Jordan Schultz: “He’s scored a lot early on in his career….and he was never a finals MVP.”
CJ McCollum: “Never a finals MVP. But hit big shot after big shot. If you could look at the stats I would imagine that their points per game are probably similar, comparable…the only question will be how many rings does he [Iggy] win before he retires? Either way, I think he’s a Hall of Famer yesterday. Before he hit that three [in Game 2], he was a hall of Famer, after the three…”
Jordan Schultz: “He just keeps doing this, that’s the point. He keeps making plays… timely corner buckets. He has the steal strip vs. Dame, he has the three [pointer] in Game 2. I mean, how many things does this guy have to do? And as Steve Kerr said, he’s just a great basketball player. I mean Andre Iguodala is a great, great basketball player. He’s 35-years old. He’s been in the NBA since ‘04, the year I graduated high school. He has transformed himself one time after another…he keeps changing his game…he keeps altering his ability to affect the game in positive ways. Whatever you need, he can do. I think he’s a First Ballot Hall of Famer.”
You can listen to the entire episode here.