The last time Doc Rivers' Los Angeles Clippers took on the Portland Trail Blazers, the Clips left Rip City with a rather routine victory over a shorthanded team.
That's because Rivers declined the option to let Portland's second-leading scorer, C.J. McCollum, take the court after the Most Improved Player candidate was mistakenly left off the Blazers' active roster in what the team called a clerical error.
Much has changed since then, as the Clippers have dealt with the circus surrounding Blake Griffin punching a team staffer, while Portland has enjoyed an improbable 22-12 run that has them in a Western Conference playoff position.
Still, with Thursday representing the first meeting between the Clippers and Blazers since that much talked about Jan. 6 affair, you knew the topic of McCollum's bizarre absence was going to come up, and C.J. was well prepared with a clever jab.
"It's unfortunate that that's how it had to go down," McCollum said Wednesday night, as reported by The Oregonian's Joe Freeman. "But if it was my son, I would probably protect him, too," McCollum added, an obvious reference to the fact he fancied his chances in a matchup with Clippers guard Austin Rivers.
As unlikely an outcome as it seems, if the Blazers can find a way to make up four games on the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies over the final three weeks of the season, McCollum will have a chance to get the last laugh in a first round playoff series against the fourth-seeded Clippers.
Blazers' McCollum trolls Doc, Austin Rivers
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