Trail Blazers will go as far as young backcourt will carry them

Portland gave talented point guard Damian Lillard the keys to a Trail Blazers’ castle that looked to be on the verge of crumbling when they lost four starters last summer.

The Trail Blazers then allowed third-year shooting guard C.J. McCollum to take on a starting role and have watched him blossom into one of the league’s best young talents.

Together, Lillard, 25, and McCollum, 24, have grown into one of the NBA’s most dynamic backcourt duos.

And because of their surprising rise as a powerful combination, the Trail Blazers haven’t collapsed and instead have a chance to wind up with the fifth or sixth seed in the Western Conference.

“I think Terry has done a terrific job and I think those two guards have done an amazing job,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said recently, referring to Portland Coach Terry Stotts. “They have more talent than I think what people thought, No. 1. But when you have two scorers on your team, two great scorers, you tend to win games. And that’s what they’ve done.”

Lillard was the known quantity, a starter all four of his seasons in Portland, a two-time All-Star who played in every game in his first three campaigns. The Trail Blazers put their faith in him by giving him a five-year extension for $120 million last summer.

McCollum was the unknown, having started three games in his first two seasons with Portland before being thrust into his new role.

“Damian has been an All-Star and he’s had a pretty nice resume already,” Stotts said. “C.J. went through a learning process for the first couple of years. He learned the NBA, got stronger, worked on his ballhandling and he was ready for the opportunity.”

Their styles on the court are similar. Both are lethal shooters who can create open looks with the ball in their hands. They are also willing to share the ball.

“It’s all about wanting to see the other guy do well and willing to give the ball up,” Lillard said. “I’m happy to have somebody to take the pressure off and somebody that I can give the ball up to and they can score the ball or make a play. He’s one of those guys that can.”

Lillard is having his best season and leads Portland in scoring, with 25.2 points a game, fifth-best in the NBA, and assists with 6.9, eighth in the league, going into this weekend’s games.

Meanwhile, McCollum is second on the team in scoring (20.7) and assists (4.2) and is 15th in the NBA in three-point shooting (41%). And his scoring has jumped so much from the 6.8 points he averaged last season that he’s a virtual lock to win the NBA’s most-improved-player award.

“I think the fact that we have a relationship off the court makes it easier to trust each other on the court and make that extra pass,” McCollum said about Lillard. “We’re two guys who get along. We understand what’s at stake here and we understand what we’re trying to accomplish as a team and as individuals.”

It goes without saying that All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors are considered the best backcourt in the league.

When the conversation shifts to the league’s other top backcourt duos, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and the Clippers’ Chris Paul and J.J. Redick are often mentioned. Washington’s John Wall and Bradley Beal had been on the list last fall, but Beal has had an injury-plagued season.

It’s an elite group that Lillard and McCollum have joined.

Portland radio analyst Antonio Harvey, a power forward who played for six teams over a decade in the NBA, marvels at how well Lillard and McCollum work together.

“If you watch any Blazers game, Dame [Lillard] dominates the ball in his time. But when it’s not his time, he freely gives the ball up to C.J. and lets him go to work,” Harvey said. “It’s the most amazing thing. There will be games when Dame will shoot the ball 20 times and you won’t even notice it. He doesn’t force the issue. He just lets it happen.

“Now there are certain times when [Lillard] forces the issue, but that’s when the Blazers need him to. That’s the beauty of what he’s doing out there, what they are doing together, actually.”

Another thing Lillard and McCollum share is they are both from mid-major universities.

Lillard was chosen sixth overall after spending four years at Weber State and McCollum was taken 10th overall after spending four years at Lehigh.

Even though he’s the leader of the group, Lillard’s not trying to push McCollum.

“I just want to give him the space to develop. I had the time ... my first three years,” Lillard said. “For him, it’s just accepting that it takes time. It’s not being in his ear about everything. It’s letting him grow by his experiences and being supportive. That’s been the biggest thing.”

The two say they are inseparable. They want to make this work. They want to be an elite backcourt.

“We watch a lot of film together. We work out together,” McCollum said. “We’re always critiquing each other’s game and questioning each other on how to get better. We’re the type of guys that are always in the gym, especially in the summertime, putting work in, staying around in the Portland area and just continuing to hone our skills and improve in different areas.

“We all know the team goes as Dame goes and I have to make sure that I’m able to help him each night.”

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter: @BA_Turner