C.J. McCollum showed up to play against the Clippers on Wednesday like he was supposed to. He went into the locker room, put on his uniform and went out to warm up as usual.
But when it was time to start the game, the Trail Blazers didn’t have their second-best player on the court.
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Why? Because someone on the team’s staff mistakenly listed him as inactive — a "clerical error," as the team called it.
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Teams are required to submit a final list of active players one hour before the start of the game. The Blazers claimed their clerical error was corrected. Clippers representatives were seen protesting.
Goes without saying: Blazers made a monumental and embarrassing mistake with McCollum snafu. Just can't have that happen.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 7, 2016NBA rules state that a technical foul can be assessed prior to the game for allowing a player who was declared inactive to play.
Here's the rule pic.twitter.com/sbUQoRupOK
— Erik Gundersen (@blazerbanter) January 7, 2016According to the Los Angeles Times, the NBA ruled in the Clippers' favor, and McCollum wasn't allowed to play. The Oregonian reported after the game that Clippers coach Doc Rivers had the final say.
League source tells me the NBA gave Clippers coach Doc Rivers the option before tipoff to let CJ McCollum play Wednesday. Rivers said no.
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) January 7, 2016McCollum left the bench for the locker room and returned in street clothes. The former Lehigh star is second on the team in scoring to Damian Lillard with a 21-point average. He also came into the game with a hot hand, having scored 25 points or better in four of his team’s last five games.
The Clippers beat the Blazers 109-98. McCollum's replacement, Allen Crabbe, scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 34 minutes.