Thorpe: Blazers G CJ McCollum Should Study Thunder G Reggie Jackson

David ThorpeofESPN.com (Insider)suggests thatPortland Trail Blazers rookie guard CJ McCollum should study Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson.

It's fair to assume Damian Lillard will be the starting point guard in Portland for a long time. So McCollum would be wise to see how Reggie Jackson handled a similar situation in OKC.

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McCollum is not the one-on-one talent that Jackson is, but playing with an aggressive scorer's mentality is key for him to both make a difference for his team and prove he belongs. It may take some time, just as Jackson had to wait out the Eric Maynor era, as laughable as that may seem now. Patience and assertiveness are not easy partners, but Jackson proved that they can be a formidable combination for a backup point guard.

Click herefor Thorpe's comparisons for 16 different 2014 rookies.

McCollum, 22, is averaging 5.6 points (on 41.2 percent shooting) and 1.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes over 33 appearances this season.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter