CJ McCollum will be available for the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday matchup vs the league-leading Phoenix Suns, the team announced.
The veteran scoring guard entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol last Thursday. The LeHigh University product joined the Pelicans via trade in February from Portland.
CJ McCollum (Health & Safety Protocols) has been upgraded to AVAILABLE for tonight’s game vs. Phoenix — New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 15, 2022
He has already played 12 games with New Orleans, and immediately emerged as one of the top scorers in New Orleans, which has yet to see Zion Willimson taking the floor thi season.
McCollum is averaging 27.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. The Pelicans sit 10th in the Western Conference with a 28-40 record.
They hold on to the last play-in spot being 1.5 games ahead of the 11th placed Portland Trail Blazers.
“It’s hard to watch. You want to be out there competing and helping your team win, but the guys did a great job while I was out,” McCollum said. “I was able to kind of rest, recover and get my mind right for the last push.”
McCollum missed Pelicans last two games, where Devonte Graham started in his place in the lineup. Jose Alvarado also saw his minutes bump up during that two-game stint.
Graham will return to his sixth-man role in the upcoming games. The Pelicans went 1-1 in the last two contests without the former Blazer.
They will face Phoenix coming off a 130-105 win over the Houston Rockets.
CJ is back at practice and talks about what he did while he was out and how the team did on Sunday 🏀#Pelicans | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/ainVgwqlvc — New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 15, 2022
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