C.J. McCollum is having a breakout season for the Portland Trail Blazers. He's started in all 36 of his appearances, and his 21 points-per-game average is second on the team behind only Damian Lillard.
So, when Clippers head coach Doc Rivers had the opportunity to keep a healthy McCollum from playing against his team on Wednesday, naturally, that's exactly what he did.
The Blazers mistakenly left McCollum off the active list, and head coach Terry Stotts signed the lineup sheet and turned it into officials without noticing the error. The two teams had a conference call with the NBA to see if the honest mistake could be ignored, but rules are rules, so McCollum was forced to sit.
Rivers reportedly had the chance to let the Blazers off the hook, but according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, he decided to decline instead.
Behind the scenes, the Blazers were fighting for McCollum to play. They sought a rules clarification from the NBA and disputed the timing of the incident.Don Vaden, the NBA’s director of officials, was at the game and mediated the situation with both teams.
Allen Crabbe started in McCollum's place, and finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. The Clippers won by a final of 109-98, and obviously, Rivers was all smiles afterward.
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